Starting Point
by luli27
Summary: After the events of Santa in the Slush and her trip to Peru, a song makes Brennan realize just how special what she shares with Booth is. Can she make him realize the same thing? Prequel to Breaking Point, find out how BB got together.
1. Chapter 1

**Starting Point**

**Disclaimer: **No, they're not mine. I'm just borrowing them for a little while. I'll return them as soon as I'm done - not exactly as I found them, cause let's face it the reason I borrowed them in the first place was to change them, wasn't it? But, hopefully, they'll be happier and more fulfilled by the time I'm through!

**A/N: **Well, here it is; the promise prequel to Breaking Point. I'm sorry it's been a while, but I had to finish Men From the Gate first. But now it's done, so I can concentrate on this for the time being. I'm not planning on this being more than five chapters. So, hopefully, I'll have it finish by middle of next week. No promises, but I have started on the second chapter already and I plan to finish it today and I have the rest of the story all planned out, so . . . Well, as always I want to thank Puppet for her help betaing and brainstorming and encouragement. And thanks to Red for her input into this chapter. You guys seriously help me write better stories; thank you!! Please, please, let me know what you think. And now enjoy!!!

**Chapter 1**

Dr. Temperance Brennan shifted in her seat and looked out the window. Clouds, clouds and more clouds with sporadic views of blue sky - the view hadn't changed since the last time she'd looked. Not that she had really expected it to; there was only so much you could see from 30,000 feet in the air. She shifted again and wished she'd insisted on an aisle seat. These airplane seats were too cramped for someone her height to be comfortable for more than an hour; but at least on the aisle, she would have had some room to stretch her legs.

She sighed and looked at her watch; one and a half hours until they landed in DC. She could hardly wait. Twelve days; she'd been gone for twelve days but it felt more like three months. She missed her home, her lab, her friends; she just missed her normal life and couldn't wait to get back to it.

When had going to another country to study recently found 1500 year old skeletons of a mysterious culture become such a hardship and stopped being an adventure she looked forward to? When had she become so attached to one city and the friends in it that a few days away was enough for her to be homesick for them? She hadn't been homesick in fifteen years. When had she begun to think of DC, her apartment, and the lab as 'home' and not just the places where she slept and worked? When had her co-workers stopped being her co-workers and become her friends and family?

With a quiet snort and a roll of her eyes, she answered herself; they weren't tough questions after all. It all began with Booth. Well, Angela bullied her way in first, but it hadn't been until Booth that she'd allowed herself, not only to befriend but to depend on others. Unlike Angela, he hadn't bullied his way in; instead, he'd gained her trust by always being there when she needed him.

Like a steady trickle of water that eventually wears down the mightiest of boulders, his constant presence, unwavering support and unshakable loyalty slowly broke down the walls she had built around herself after her parents' disappearance. Eventually and almost without her realizing it, he'd won her friendship, loyalty and trust.

Before she knew it, he had become an integral part of her new family. The family she'd chosen and the one she knew she could count on. And though part of her was still afraid of being abandoned, most of her knew that if Booth had anything to say about it, she'd never be alone again.

And when her dad and brother came back into her life, it was because of him that she had given them a chance. It had been Booth that had pushed her, subtly, because he knew better than to push too hard, to give them and herself the opportunity to be a family again. Because of that, she had just spent Christmas with her family for the first time in fifteen years.

And even though she'd had to postpone her trip to Peru for a few days to be able to be with them that evening, she didn't regret it. Because even if they had celebrated it in a trailer belonging to the jail, they'd been together and it had been the happiest holidays she'd spent since her childhood. 

Two weeks and a very interesting trip later, here she was not wishing she had more days to study the Moche skeletons but instead feeling desperate to be home. With a start, she realized that twelve days was about the longest she'd been away since the first few months of her partnership with Booth. It seemed that in the three years since their partnership had begun, Booth had infiltrated every area of her life and had somehow even caused her to alter her goals and priorities.

She was always amazed when she realized just how much her life had changed in the last three years. And nothing had changed more than her relationship with her partner. Against all logic and reason, Booth had become her best friend. She and Angela were still close, but it was Booth that she went to when she had a problem; and it was to Booth that she confided everything. Even things she hadn't ever though she'd share with anyone else.

Brennan laid her head back and closed her eyes; she really didn't want to think about Booth and their relationship, about why it was him she'd missed the most, and why it was him that had kept her apprised of everything going on back home. Or about the fact that he'd become the yardstick by which she measured every new person she met, and how whenever she had to make a decision, part of her brain would automatically think 'what would Booth do/think?' even when another part always scoffed at the idea of putting so much weight on someone else's opinions.

And she most definitely did not want to think about the very interesting dreams, where she'd relived again and again, the kiss they shared under the mistletoe; or how most had evolved so that kissing was not the only thing they shared. No, better not think about any of that.

She looked down to her bag and frowned. There was nothing there to help with keeping her mind off Booth as she'd already finished the books in her carry-on. She really should have listened to Booth and packed a few more. Ugh, she couldn't even go five seconds without thinking about him. But then she remembered her Ipod and with an 'aha!' she leaned forward to get it out, ignoring the sideways looks of the people seated around her.

Brennan had asked Elena, her Peruvian assistant, to download some of the latest hits. She always tried to bring back local music from the places she had visited; in her opinion, it was one of the best ways to understand a culture and practice the language. She especially liked Latin music because it was so varied and the language so rich. Unfortunately, with her busy schedule, she didn't have much time to listen to the new stuff; this trip had been the perfect opportunity to add to her collection.

She put in the earphones and after relaxing back into her seat, she turned on her Ipod and listened to it until the overhead signed flashed, indicating it was time to turn off all electronic devices. As she put it away, she couldn't help but think back on a particular song and how it much she related to it. The commotion preceding the landing and the landing itself drove the thought out of her head however.

Forty minutes later, she was finally walking down the corridor leading from the arrival gates and towards the luggage claim area. She started to look for Booth as soon as she passed the metal detectors and left the "Traveler's Only" restricted area. His height made him easy to spot and she soon found him lounging against a wall. She took advantage of the fact that he hadn't yet seen her, to study him unobserved. There was no denying the fact that he was a handsome man, but he was even better looking than she remembered.

Her chance to observe did not last long, however, as Booth used the special Bones radar he seemed to have and spotted her within moments. She saw his face turn towards her, his eyes widen when they met hers, and his mouth stretched into one of the widest smiles she'd ever seen on his face, when he recognized her. She didn't even realize that she was wearing a matching grin.

"Bones!" he called out, and started forward to meet her. She also hurried forward and they were soon face to face. Without hesitation, he reached out, pulled her into a tight hug and said, "I'm glad you're back. I missed you."

"I missed you, too," she breathed, as she returned the hug with equal strength. She had known she missed him, but she didn't how much, until she felt his arms around her once more.

A few moments later, they pulled back and grinned happily at each other. Neither could quite believe how relieved they were to be back in the other's company. And strangely enough, neither was particularly bothered by the strength of the feeling. After giving her another, smaller, hug, Booth reached down and took her carry on before putting his arm around her shoulders and leading her towards the luggage carrousel. Brennan was so happy to be back, that she didn't even protest the alpha male move.

"So, how was the flight?" he asked, as they came to stop by the carrousel to wait for her bag.

"Pretty good," she answered with a shrug. "There was a bit of turbulence about an hour into it but, other than that, it was pretty normal."

"Good," he said with a nod. "There's nothing worse than an eventful flight. Anything eventful in an airplane is usually bad news."

"How's everything here?" she asked, after nodding at his comment, "anything new?"

"No, not since last night," Booth answered with a grin. "Relax, Bones. The kids behaved themselves and the lab is still in one piece. Though, Hodgins and Zack did try their best to blow it up. They tried to do this experiment last week . . ." He shook his head, but was grinning in recollection. "Well, let's just say that it was a good thing that Angela was there to stop them."

"What experiment?" She asked almost before he finished speaking. "And how come you didn't say anything about it in your phone calls?"

"I'm not sure what experiment it was; just that it would have had quite a result. As to why I didn't tell you," he said with a shrug, "I didn't see the point. There was no harm done. Heck, they didn't even get to finish it."

"Still," she grumbled. "You were supposed to keep me abreast of everything that happened at the lab. Is there anything else you didn't see the point in telling me?"

"Nope," he answered after a moment's thought. "That's about it."

"What about cases?" She asked, after a few moments of comfortable silence. "Are there any new ones?"

"Nope, not since last night," he repeated. "We finished the last case; I just dropped off our notes over at Justice."

"Good," Brennan said, in a neutral tone, Booth, however, knew her well enough and noticed the wistful note in it.

"I'm just glad we only got one case while you were gone, and that it was a relatively easy one." He commented nonchalantly. "Not only did I have time to finally catch up on my paperwork, I was also spared the necessity of working too closely with Zack. Thank you, God," he added fervently.

"Oh, come on," Brennan said, in rebuke, as she turned her head to look for her bag and hide her smile. "Zack's not that bad. He's actually a pretty good forensic anthropologist. I mean, I did train him myself," she finished, with a smirk.

"It's not his professional skills I have a problem with, Bones; it's his social skills." Booth said, as he moved to help an older woman retrieve her suitcase. Brennan smiled at this display of chivalry and waited until the woman said 'thanks' before continuing.

"But that shouldn't be a problem." Brennan said, as she was jostled into Booth by a couple of young men. Booth frowned and Brennan knew that if she didn't distract him, he'd go and offer them a lesson in manners. "You taught me how to be more sociable. You should do the same with him."

"See, that's my point," Booth said, pointing at her. "I've already trained _my_ squint; why should I train another? It's not that easy, you know."

"Hey!" Brennan protested and slapped his arm, as Booth laughed and tried to evade her. "I am not a pet to be trained! And why do you say it wasn't easy?" She asked, indignantly.

"Bones, Bones," Booth said, and still laughing, threw an arm around her shoulders. "She's my partner, you know. I'm very happy with her and I have no interest in breaking in a new one. And I'm really glad she's back."

Brennan smiled, and with a sigh, let her head fall on his shoulder. The feeling of contentment she felt in his arms was what she had missed the most; and since she was quite comfortable, she decided to stay there until her suitcase arrived. At first, Booth was surprised at how she cuddled closer, instead of pulling away, but he then smiled and gave her shoulder a slight squeeze. As was usually the case with airlines, the first bags to be checked in are the last to be unloaded, so they waited about ten minutes before they were able to leave.

"So," Booth said, as they waited to cross the street to get to the parking lot. "You had fun playing with your mummies?"

"Booth," Brennan said, as she watched him struggle to pull her suitcase and carry-on; by now, she knew better than to tell him she could carry her own bags. That would just lead to an argument she'd end up losing anyway. "I went to Peru; not Brazil," she added, thinking of Caroline's insistence on mixing the two countries up; just because they were both located south of the equator, did not mean they were interchangeable – they didn't even speak the same language! "Not Egypt, not Africa, Peru! As in South America, to study 1500 year old skeletons, _not_ mummies! I . . ."

"I know, Bones," Booth interrupted her before she really started on the lecture. "I know where you went and I know where Peru is located. But I also know that they found an Incan mummy there a few years ago."

"If you . . ." whatever she'd started to say slipped her mind at his mention of the Incas. "You know about the Incan mummy?" She asked, incredulously.

"Yes, Bones," Booth answered, slowly, and with a small smile; he loved surprising her with the depth of his knowledge. "I know about the Incan mummy and the Incan culture. They're one of the greatest Pre-Colombian civilizations and have left one of the most iconic symbols of Pre-Spanish architecture."

" Machu Picchu," Brennan nodded.

"Yes," Booth answered. "It was voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, you know."

"Yes, I'd heard that," Brennan said.

"I imagine you've been there?" Booth asked.

"Yes, a couple of times," she answered, with a far away look. "It was the most spectacular sight. Have you been there?"

"No," he answered, with a wistful sigh, "though, I would love to go one day."

"It'd be a wonderful experience," Brennan agreed. "Would you take Parker with you? You know, you really shouldn't have agreed with him when he said Peru was in Africa. Those kinds of misconceptions can very . . ."

"Bones," Booth interrupted her, yet again. "That just wasn't the right time for a geography lesson, ok?"

"Ok," Brennan agreed reluctantly. "So did you correct his mistake afterwards?"

"Not exactly, look," he added, when he saw that she had opened her mouth to continue the lecture. "You can explain it all to him the next time you see him, ok? And if you get my six year old to sit still for a geography lesson, you're a better teacher than the ones at school," he added under his breath.

Brennan heard him, but chose to ignore the muttered comment, and answered the first part. "I'd love to. He seems like a very smart little boy."

"He is," Booth agreed proudly. "So," he said, after a few moments' pause. "How was the trip to Peru?"

"Fascinating," was her enthusiastic response. "The Moche skeletons are even older than the Incan mummy, you know?" She paused, as a hurried mother lost the battle with her kid and he ran in front of them.

"The Moche is one of the more obscured of the Pre-Incan civilizations and Peru had quite a few of them scattered throughout its territory. The site where the skeletons were found, El Brujo, is to the north of the country, close to one of the country's biggest cities: Trujillo. It's their summer, and close to the equator, so it was very hot," she added with a shrug, "tiring and somewhat uncomfortable, but also interesting, rewarding and absorbing."

"Only you, Bones," Booth said, with a small smile, shaking his head. "Say, you still have vacation time left, don't you?" He asked to be sure, though he was pretty confident of the answer.

"Yes," she said, as she gave him a sideways glance, wondering what he was getting at. "I should still have at least two weeks left."

"Good," he said, with a nod, and a grin, as they came to a stop by his SUV. "Then you can come with us on our vacation," he announced decisively, as he opened the trunk and put her bags in.

"What?" she asked, as he closed the trunk. "What are you talking about? Who's us? When are you going on vacation? Where are you going? Wait," she said, as she waved her hand, as if to dispel what she'd just said. "It doesn't matter; I can't go on vacation; I have a lot of work to do, bodies in limbo to identify, corrections to my latest books . . ."

"'Us' as in Parker and me," Booth said, interrupting her list of reasons why she couldn't go on vacation. "We're going in June and we don't know where we're going yet. And yes, you can go on vacation. You have until June to get done whatever you need to do. And if I'm not mistaken, it's been more than a year since you took a vacation. You're due for some time off. And you're coming with us." He said, in that tone she'd learned meant the matter was settled and there was no use arguing.

"How come this is the first I'm hearing about a vacation?" she asked, as they climbed into the truck.

"I didn't know it was going to happen until last week, myself. Rebecca was planning on taking on a trip herself but it fell through so now I can take him," he explained, as he started the SUV.

"How long are you going?" she asked, as Booth backed out of the parking space.

"_We're_ going for two weeks," he said simply, as he stopped to pay the parking fee.

"Two weeks!!" she exclaimed, sounding as scandalized as if he'd just cursed her.

"Yes, Bones, two weeks," Booth answered patiently. "It's not a crime to take two weeks off, you know. And you just said you should have at least two week's worth of vacation time. Besides, this will be Parker's last summer vacation before he starts first grade and I want to make it memorable." He paused, as he checked to make sure the way was clear before joining the traffic on I-495.

"He's really excited," he told her, with a grin. "He can't decide between the mountains or the beach. Though what he's really pulling for is Disney World."

"Booth," Brennan said, and only someone who really knew her, would have detected the trace of anxiety in her voice. Booth was one of the few that really knew her. "This sounds like a special time between you and Parker; and I wouldn't want to intrude."

"You wont be intruding, Bones," Booth said, patiently. He'd known she was going to bring this up. "I wouldn't be asking you to come with us, if I thought you'd be intruding."

"But what about Parker?" she asked; she was not really worried about her partner but, rather about his son and whether he'd think she was taking over the time he had to spend with his dad.

"No way," was Booth's prompt answer. "He's really excited about you going with us."

"Really?" Brennan asked, skeptically.

"Really," Booth answered firmly. "He really likes you, Bones. And he's already thought of all the advantages of you coming along."

"Like what?" she asked, surprised that there could be any advantages to having her go with them.

"Like getting an answer to every conceivably scientific question he can come up with and most of the non-scientific questions too," he told her and she smiled. "Like having another person he could convince to back him up when he wants ice cream, popcorn or just one more story or one more ride, or having another person to carry him, if he gets tired. And, this might be the best one, having another person to gang up against his dear old dad."

"He thought of all that?" Brennan asked, not sure she believed a six year old could come up with all that by himself.

"Yep," Booth said with a grin. "Trust me Bones he wants you to come along. He didn't even argue when I told him that we couldn't decide where we were going until you came back because it'd be your vacation too."

"Ummm," she said, as she shifted in her seat. A small, comfortable silence fell between the partners.

Booth knew Brennan enough to know that she would need to think before agreeing to the vacation. Not that he had any doubts that she would accept; they'd been spending more and more of their off time together and in the last few weeks before she'd left that had even included the weekends he had Parker. Still, she needed time to process and think about the fact that she would be spending two weeks, not only with her partner, but also with her partner's son.

Because he was sure she'd eventually agree, he didn't feel the need to keep pushing her. And though he didn't mind the silence at all, he reached forward to turn on the radio. He didn't really want to dwell too much on the vacation and end up creating expectations that could end up being counter-productive. He was soon humming along with the radio and tapping the steering wheel in rhythm with the song.

Brennan smiled when he turned on the radio and started humming along. Most people would be offended at what they would consider being ignored; but she knew that he was only giving her the space he knew she needed. It still surprised her every time she realized just how well he knew her, how well he 'got' her – more than anyone else ever had, including Angela. And what was even more amazing, was how that knowledge didn't make her panic, didn't make her want to run fast and far; instead, it was comforting.

It was comforting to know there was someone in the world that knew her better than she knew herself, who always knew where she was, and what was going on in her life. And that was why she was going to go on vacation with him and Parker; why she had known she'd be going as soon as he mentioned it, even if she needed time to fully assimilate to the idea. As she observed the traffic go by, she lost herself in imagining what a vacation with two Booth men would be like and discovered that her fertile imagination wasn't quite fertile enough to provide an adequate picture of what it would be like.

When she became aware of her surroundings again, she realized that more than ten minutes had gone by. If she'd been with anyone else, she'd have been surprised at how easy it had been to let the silence grow. In her experience, silences were rarely comfortable. They were usually filled with possibilities, too fraught with expectations, too packed with the things we don't want or don't know how to say. That was why she rarely let silences linger and usually filled them with trivial information or quaint anthropological comparisons, always hiding what she was really thinking or feeling behind her academic persona.

But it was different with Booth (everything was different with Booth). She had found out that she was as comfortable being silent with him as she was bickering with him or telling him things she'd never shared before. Of all the things he'd taught her, the fact that they could be together without having to speak, and just _be_ who they were when they were alone, without the masks they wore around people, without any pressure or expectation was perhaps the most surprising and most liberating.

Not since she was fifteen had she felt safe enough, secure enough, with someone else to allow herself the luxury of being comforted only with his presence; not needing anything else but feeling him next to her to not be lonely. It had taken her awhile to understand that just like you could be lonely in the middle of a group of people, you could also have someone keep you company when you were alone. That's what Booth did for her, that's what she hoped they did for each other: they kept each other company, even when they were alone; whether it be alone with their thoughts or physically alone, they had only to reach or call out and the other one would be there.

It hadn't been easy, but she had finally come to believe that he would always be no further than a phone call away. And it was that certainty in his continued presence that had allowed her to start letting go of the past, that had helped heal the wounds her parents' disappearance had left. It was because of him and the close and unique relationship they had, that she had been able to rid herself of the ghosts of her past and had stopped letting the disappointments and hurts of the past dictate how she lived her present or poison her future. It was because of him, and what he gave her, that she had begun to conquer her fears and no longer allowed those fears to rule her life.

And that thought brought her full circle, as she realized that because she had stopped letting fears rule how she lived, she was now planning to take a vacation with the man who was not quite her lover, but was so much more than just a partner, or friend, and with his six year old son.

"What did you mean when you said the mountains?" She asked, breaking the silence and resuming the conversation, as if no time had passed.

"Well, an Army buddy of mine has a cabin in western Virginia. I've been up a couple of times and it's very nice. Secluded, right by a lake, it's ideal to get away from it all. There's not television or phone and the electricity is on a generator, so it's just enough to have lights at night."

"No phone?" she asked, surprised. "How do you keep in touch with the people back home?"

"You don't," was Booth's easy answer. "That's the whole point of the cabin – you really go away and disconnect from everyday life." He turned and gave her a glance, "There'll be no laptop, no satellite connection and no phone calls; in other words, no work."

"No work?" she repeated blankly.

"Nope," he affirmed cheerfully. "No work. Don't worry," he added, when he saw her dumbfounded look, "the world will continue on without you. And you'll survive, believe me."

"But, but," Brennan stammered but he just shook his head and chuckled and she ended up crossing her arms and staring out the windshield. He was impossible to reason with when he got like that and she knew it; it looked like she was going on a two weeks vacation after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Starting Point**

**Disclaimer: **No, they're not mine. I'm just borrowing them for a little while. I'll return them as soon as I'm done - not exactly as I found them, cause let's face it the reason I borrowed them in the first place was to change them, wasn't it? But, hopefully, they'll be happier and more fulfilled by the time I'm through!

**A/N: **Well, here's the second chapter; not a long wait, was it?? I should have the next chapter out soon too since it's half done now. I want to thank every one that took the time to review, I really appreciate it!!! One thing, most of you said that the vacation idea was sweet. I agree, however, as I said, when I came up with this idea the focus was on her realization and their coming together before the vacation. Now, I do listen to you guys and I like to accomadate you as much as I can. So, I will extend that part of the fic but some things have to happen before that, so please bear with me - I'll make it worth your while, I promise. Also, someone asked about the song, I promise I'll name it and post the lyrics but that'll be next chapter. Please, be patient. I have it all plan out, I promise!!! As always, thanks to pup for her help betaing and please let me know what you think!! Now, enjoy!!

**Chapter 2 **

"So, I was thinking," Booth said fifteen minutes later, as they walked into Brennan's apartment building.

"Really, Booth," Brennan interrupted him, as they entered the elevator. "You shouldn't do that, you might hurt yourself."

Booth blinked a few times and opened and closed his mouth twice before he was able to talk. "Bones, did you just make a joke?" he asked, bemused. "What did they serve down in Peru that you came back with a sense of humor?"

"Booth," she replied seriously, "who said I was kidding?" Booth stared at her for a few moments thinking that she was always surprising him. He finally chuckled and shook his head deciding to just go ahead with his thought.

"Anyway," he continued, as they left the elevator and started to walk down the hall to her place. During the last fifteen minutes of the ride to Brennan's apartment, Booth had kept talking of the wonderful time they'd have at the cabin, while Brennan had kept arguing that she couldn't be out of touch for two whole weeks.

Booth had enjoyed acting as if he hadn't heard her, as he'd expounded on the beauty of the lake, the peacefulness of a few days without modern day distractions and how rested they'd all be afterwards. As much as he'd enjoyed the time spent frustrating her, however, he wasn't sure if spending the entire two weeks at the lake was feasible.

"I was thinking," he repeated, as Brennan opened her door, "that we could go to Disney World for the second week of our vacation."

"Disney World?" Brennan asked, surprised, as she turned to look at him after dropping her keys and purse on the table closest to the door.

"Yes, Disney World," Booth answered, as he closed the door behind him. He walked towards the hallway leading to her bedroom, pulling her suitcases behind him. "Have you ever been there?"

"No," she answered, as she followed him into the hallway and then walked into the kitchen. She headed for the refrigerator to take out a bottle of water as she continued; "my parents always talked about taking a family trip there but . . ." she trailed off, as she brought the bottle of water to her lips and took a drink.

"Yes, well," Booth said, as he leaned against a counter and crossed his feet. He took the bottle of water she offered and twisted the cap off before tightening it again. "Everyone should visit Disney World at least once in their lives. And Parker has been dying to go. I thought we could drive down and spend the second week going to the parks."

"Spend a week going to Disney World?" She asked, holding the bottle of water halfway to her mouth.

"Yes, to Disney and the other parks in the area," he answered before bringing his bottle to his lips and drinking deeply.

"So," Brennan said slowly, "you want me to take two weeks off and spend one week at a cabin by a lake, that has no way to communicate with the rest of the world, and another week going to Disney and different amusement parks?"

"Yes," Booth answered with a grin. "Doesn't that sound like a nice vacation?"

"I don't know, Booth," she answered, shaking her head and sounding skeptical. "I'm not even sure I want to go to the cabin much less Disney." She shook her head and added, "Being incommunicado for only one week sounds good, but why can't I just come back home while you and Parker go to Disney? I mean isn't that a place for kids? What would I do there?"

"No way, Bones," Booth had started shaking his head even before she'd stopped talking. "You're coming with us for the whole two weeks. And Disney is not just for kids. It is for people of all ages; it is the place where magic happens!"

"Oh, please, Booth," she said, rolling her eyes. "Magic doesn't exist!"

"It does at Disney World," he insisted. "That's the whole point of the place; and it's not just for kids. Grown ups go there all the time; heck, some couples even get married there!"

"They do?" Brennan asked, once again surprised, before she shook her head and turned back to the matters at hand. "It doesn't matter; Booth, I really don't think . . ."

"Good! Then it's settled," Booth said, with a grin, and clapped his hands. "We'll go to the cabin and then Disney World. Oh, this is going to be great!!" He pushed away from the counter, rubbed his hands together and, ignoring her protests, said, "On to other things now – are you hungry?"

"Am I . . .?" she started to repeat the question, as she shook her head at his rapid change of subject. She thought about saying no and getting back to the subject of their vacation but her stomach chose that moment to rumble ending that thought before it fully formed.

"I see you are," he commented with a smirk. She frowned at him but couldn't very well deny it. "So, I was thinking Bertucci's?" He asked with a knowing gleam in his eyes; darn him, did he have to know her so well?

"I don't know, Booth," she said, hesitating, but only because she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much she had being craving a pizza from Bertucci's the last few days. "I kind of want to take a shower and don't really feel like going out."

"That's ok," Booth said, undeterred by her hesitation. He did know her well after all and knew she was going to accept. "I was thinking I'd pick up a couple of pizzas and bring them here." When she didn't immediately agree, he wheeled, "Come on, you can't tell me you don't want a vegetarian pizza, now can you?"

"Well," she started to say and then just gave in; she did want that pizza after all. "Ok, ok. Go get the pizzas, then," she ordered, as she threw the empty water bottle into the trash can. "I'll go take a shower. You still have a key, right?" she asked, as she started to walk towards the hallway.

"Yep," he asked, as he started to walk towards the door.

"Good, you can use it if you come back before I'm done," she told him, as she reached down to pick up her suitcase. It might take him half an hour to come back but she felt like taking a long, hot shower and did not want to have to worry about finishing before he came back. He nodded and kept going; she took two steps before she stopped and called out to him, "Booth! Don't forget to bring back . . ."

"Rolls," Booth finished with her. "Don't worry, Bones. I won't forget to bring back your rolls. I know how much you love them." He shot her a grin before he opened the door and walked out.

Brennan rolled her eyes again, as she walked towards her bedroom muttering about how insufferable he could be – even if he did know her better than she knew herself sometimes. Or maybe, a small voice insisted on speaking up, he was insufferable _because_ he knew her so much.

Thirty-five minutes later, Brennan walked out of the bedroom, wearing loose track pants and a tank top. Her hair was down and damp, falling in soft waves down her back. She walked barefoot into the kitchen to find him setting the table.

"That smells amazing," she commented, as she walked forward to get a bottle of wine. "Would you like some wine?"

"No, thanks," he answered, as he took a beer out of the refrigerator. "I bought some beer," he told her, waving the bottle he got out.

"Your choice," she said with a shrug, as she opened the bottle of wine and poured herself a glass.

"Yes," Booth agreed, as they turned and walked towards the table. He pulled her chair out and even though she rolled her eyes at the alpha male move, she sat down and thanked him. He grinned at her muttered thanks, and took his own seat.

They talked everything and nothing during their dinner. She told him more about the Moche bones, marinera (a traditional courtship dance) and about her trips to Machu Picchu. He told her about taking Parker to Vermont and their ski runs, about the case they'd had in her absence and about the mischief Hodgins tried to get Zack into. They laughed about the little kid that had sat next to Brennan on the trip down to Peru and who had seemed to think Brennan's necklace was a toy and hadn't stop until she'd taken it off and let him play with it. Booth had reminisced about his first airplane trip with Parker and how he had cried for most of the trip and Brennan had laughed until she cried at the image of a desperate Booth trying to quite a crying Parker while everyone in the plane shot daggers at them.

Before they knew it, they'd finished the pizzas, Brennan had finished almost half the bottle of wine and Booth had finished three bottles of beer. They were arguing about whether or not Booth should feel entitled to drive when it was her car they were using, when he happened to glance down at his watch and noticed the hour.

"Look at the time," he said, as he leaned forward in his chair. She looked up at the clock on the microwave and was surprised at how late it'd gotten; she hadn't realized they spent more than an hour talking. Though why she was surprised, she wasn't sure; it wasn't the first time they'd lost track while talking. For two people that argue/bicker about most any subject, they sure could shut off the rest of the world and lose themselves in each other.

"Do you need to go home?" she asked, hiding her disappointment at the thought of him leaving. She'd been gone for almost two weeks and she had missed him; as much as she liked her solitude, she found herself wishing he'd stay longer.

"Nah," Booth said, shaking his head and taking a final sip of his beer. "There's nothing I have to do; but I was wondering if maybe I could stay around and watch the game here?"

"Game? What game?" she asked, but before he could answer, she realized something else, "Wait, whatever game it is, how are you going to watch it here? There's no TV here."

"Well," he said, as a grin slowly crept across his face. "That's not exactly right. There wasn't a TV here; there is now."

"What?" she asked, not trusting that grin. "What do you mean? Booth, what have you done?" She asked, suspiciously.

"Me?" he asked, innocently. "I've done nothing. Well, Parker and I got you a TV for Christmas. Is that what you mean?"

"You got me a TV?" she asked, as she pushed back from the table and stood up. "Why and where is it?"

"It's on the living room," Booth said, as he too stood up. "And we got you a TV because it's just not right that you don't have one," he explained, sounding reasonable.

"Yeah, right," she said, as she walked into the living room and a medium size plasma TV was the first thing she saw. "You got me one because you wanted a TV here you could watch whenever you came over," she told him with a knowing smirk.

"Bones, you wound me," he told her, putting a hand on his chest and with his best innocent smile. "I got it for you!" he protested, as he walked towards her.

"Yeah, right," she repeated, skeptically.

"I'm serious," he insisted, earnestly, as he walked forward to pick up something that was lying by the TV. "Look, there are a bunch of channels that I'm sure you'll love; the discovery channel, the history channel, PBS – they all have documentaries about that academic stuff you like so much," he said, as he gave her the card he'd picked up, which contained all the channels the cable company offered.

"Ummm," Brennan said, as she took it and glanced at it briefly. "Don't I need to have this hooked up by the company?" She asked waving the card around, as she remembered a conversation she overheard between Angela and Hodgins about somebody needing to be home when they changed their provider.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it; I've taken care of it," Booth said and then quickly turned to the TV and added, "Don't you like it? It's a pretty good model."

"Yes, it's very nice," she said absently, her mind on something else. "How did you take care of it, Booth?" When he didn't immediately respond but took the card to study the channels, she asked again, "Booth, what have you done?"

"Well," Booth answered with his charmed smile, "I had to get you the complete gift, didn't I?" When she just looked at him, he shrugged and went on, "I got you the premium package and signed you up for a year and used my key to let the cable guy in."

"Booth," she chastised him. "You let some stranger into my house when I wasn't home?"

"I was here the whole time," he defended himself. "He was never alone. But I had to get cable or what good would the TV be?" She just shook her head and he grinned at her until she sighed and gave in.

"Thank you, Booth," she told him, sounding surprisingly honest. "But you really didn't have to get me anything else; the tree was more than enough."

"I'm glad you liked the tree, Bones," he said softly. "But there's no rule that says you can only give one present."

"I only got you one, though," Brennan told him just as softly.

"And I loved it," Booth told her sincerely, thinking of the beautiful watch she'd gotten for him. "Thank you; it was just what I wanted."

"I know," she told him with a small smile. "I saw you admiring it a few times."

"They weren't hints, you know," he told her, seriously.

"I know that," she repeated. "But I wanted to get it for you."

"Just like I wanted to get you the TV, so don't worry about it. And now," he said, before turning to the TV and rubbing his hands together. "You think we can try it out now and watch the game?"

"Yes, sure, go ahead," she told him with a small smile. "I'm just going to clear up the table." She turned to go and he looked at his watch and the TV before sighing.

"Hold on," he called out. "I'll come and help."

"No, don't worry about it," she said, as she stopped and turned back around. "It won't take me long; it's just a couple of dishes after all. And you got the pizzas," she added, as she walked towards the kitchen.

"Ok," Booth agreed, not needing to be told twice. "I'll be here then." With a grin, he dropped onto the sofa, reached forwards for the remote, and turned on the TV.

Less than ten minutes later, Brennan was done clearing the table. After she poured a glass of wine for herself, she was reaching for a bottle of beer for Booth, when she heard his shout, "Hey, Bones, could you please bring me a beer when you come out?"

She grinned, as she closed the refrigerator door, thinking she knew him as well as he knew her. And somehow that thought was comforting and not scary.

"Here you go," she told him, as she handed him the beer. He muttered thanks and threw her a grin before settling back down to watch the game. She leaned a hip on the sofa's edge for a minute as she studied the game. She sipped her wine and tried to follow the game but soon gave up; she knew Booth would explain it to her if she were to ask, but she just wasn't interested enough to ask.

She pushed back from the sofa and walked towards the hall table where Booth had left her mail from the past two weeks. She looked through them and picked up the latest forensic anthropology journal. She flipped through it and found a few articles that looked interesting. She took another sip of wine as she walked back to the sofa and sat at the opposite end from Booth.

She nestled against the corner, brought her legs up onto the sofa and covered them with the afghan that was over the sofa's back. She sipped her wine before putting the glass down and opening the journal. Soon she was engrossed in an article about the native tribes of the artic. Before she knew it, she'd finished that article and had begun the next one about the Polynesian people.

"What?! You gotta be kidding me!!!" Booth called out, as he leaned forward on the sofa, bringing Brennan back from the trip to the academic world she'd drifted into. "That was a foul, for God's sake!! Are you blind?! You should put your glasses on before going out into the field!!"

Brennan stared at him before briefly looking at the TV. She had no idea what had happened that had prompted such a strong reaction from Booth but she could guess it hadn't been good for Booth's team. She shook her head and went back to her reading, thinking that it was completely irrational to get all worked up about a situation that he could do nothing about. And yet somehow, it was so completely Booth and she couldn't help but be amused by it. He looked so adorable and cute that she chuckled.

"What?" Booth asked, as he turned his head to look at her, distracted from the game by her chuckle.

"Nothing," she answered, as she stretched her legs and shifted on the seat. "You know it's not very logical to shout at the TV. They won't be able to hear you and you can't change the outcome."

"Yes, I know," he agreed, sheepishly. "But," he added with a shrug, "I guess it helps me to relieve my frustrations."

"So," she said, as she once again briefly turned her head towards the TV. "Should I assume form your little demonstration that your team is losing?"

"Nah," Booth answered with a grin, as he turned his attention back to the game. "We're still a few points ahead; it was just a bad call that annoyed me, is all."

"I see," she murmured with a small smile, as she too turned back to her journal. She reached forward to pick up her glass of wine and brought it to her lips only to find out that it was empty. She put down the journal and stood up to refill it. "Would you like another beer?" She asked Booth, as she walked past him.

"Yes," he answered. "Thank you," Booth said, as he handed her his empty bottle.

She nodded and walked towards the kitchen. A few minutes later, she was back and after handing him his beer, settled back onto her seat. She sighed and sipped her wine before reaching forward to put the glass down. As she leaned back into the sofa, she happened to glance at the clock on the cable box. Her eyes widened as she realized just how much time had passed since they'd sat down after dinner.

She sat back and picked up the journal, but this time she couldn't seem to concentrate enough to follow the article. After a few moments she gave up and put the journal down on her legs as she let her mind wander where it would.

She shifted her eyes to study Booth but shut them a few seconds later; she didn't want him to catch her staring at him.

With a soft sigh, she leaned her head back and relaxed, as she tried to analyze why the passage of time had affected her so much. As much time as she spent with Booth, this wasn't the first time when a considerable amount of it was spent in silence as each one lost themselves in their own thoughts.

What was it that made this time different from all the other times that it unsettled her so? For that matter, what was it about the whole evening that had her analyzing her relationship with Booth? Oh, she knew that he thought she analyzed everything and he was right – up to a point. While she couldn't stop her mind from analyzing most everything it encountered, she'd made it a point _not_ to analyze her relationship with Booth because she had never been ready to face whatever it was she would find.

With a frown, she wondered if the reason she was thinking these things now was because she was finally ready. When her heart started to beat faster and her palms started to sweat, she decided to leave that particular question for later and go back to the earlier question.

Suddenly the lyrics to the song she'd heard earlier on the plane came back into her mind. And the cynical part of her mind wondered if that was the real reason why she'd been thinking about this – because those lyrics had put the idea into her mind. With a soft, mental scoff, she decided that whatever the reason, the idea was there now and she must deal with it.

With an inaudible sigh, she thought back to the last hour and a half and thought how there'd been nothing remarkable in it, how it had been very much like all those times they spent driving to and from crime scenes and neither had anything to say or all those hours spent working on paperwork at her or his office, her or his place. As much as their relationship was often defined by their bickering, she unexpectedly recognized that the silences were just as important and as comforting.

She thought back to her past relationships and realized that just like in every other aspect, the bickering and silences she shared with Booth were unique. No other man had ever bickered with her like Booth did; they had either been too intimidated by her intelligence to try or those that had tried, had soon given up when they'd discovered that she always had an answer and very rarely, if ever, did she give up.

Even Michael Stires had very seldom engaged her in a bickering session. Oh, they'd argued, but it had rarely been playful and he had rarely paid her side of the argument the attention it deserved; he had been convinced he knew better and felt no need to hear her out. But Booth did hear her out; as heated as their bickering could get and as dense as he could sometimes act, she knew Booth respected her and always listened to her.

Likewise, she had always avoided prolonged silences with anyone she had ever been involved with. She had never been comfortable enough in anyone's presence to fully relax and simply be; she had always been 'on', had always felt she had to entertain or keep them occupied. It wasn't until she met Booth that she realized how wonderful it was to not have to be 'on'; how freeing it was to be with someone and not have to worry about them but instead be able to concentrate on yourself and on what you wanted to do because you knew that they were happy just knowing you were there and needed nothing else from you other than your presence.

Another shout from Booth brought her back from her musing and she began to wonder whether these thoughts had occurred to him too or whether this was all in her head. She knew they had never talked about this, because as much as they talked about their problems, they rarely talked about their relationship. It seemed that somewhere along the line they had agreed that whatever it was they had going didn't need to be discussed, that it just was. And both were happy that way; both were happy with the status quo and had felt no need to change it.

But the truth of the matter was that things had been changing and they'd been changing for awhile. They were no longer the persons they'd been when they first started working together; they weren't even the persons they'd been a year ago. They'd gone through too much together; they knew each other too well; they had fought for and supported each other for too long to be the same people. Without realizing it, they had each become one of the most important persons in the other one's life. And whatever she had told Sweets, she could no longer imagine her life without Booth in it; what was more, she no longer wanted to.

Their relationship had been changing for months now and whether conscious or not, so had her behavior towards him. She no longer had to be convinced to accept a 'guy hug' when she needed comfort; now she was the one that initiated the hugs or the kisses whenever she either needed them to feel better or to express her feelings. Hell, she had even grabbed onto Caroline's request that she kiss him on the lips because it had been something she'd been wondering about for a long time but which she wouldn't have had the courage to attempt on her own. That was why her 'no' to his insistence that he'd talk Caroline out of it had been so strong and quick in coming.

She had to stifle a smirk as she remembered his surprised at her swift 'no'; though to be fair, at that moment she wasn't sure who had been more surprised, him or her. Just like she wasn't sure who had been more shaken at the power of their kiss, him, her or Caroline. And whatever she'd told the attorney, kissing Booth had been nothing like kissing Russ; if she ever got a tenth of the reaction kissing Booth had provoked in her when she kiss Russ, then she would check herself into the first psychiatric clinic she comes across.

So, yes, their relationship had been changing for a while and it seemed like she was finally ready, not only to face those changes, but also what they meant. Whether the catalyst had been the song, or whether it was just the time, or whether it had been the kiss they shared before she left, it didn't matter. What mattered now was whether or not she was ready to talk about it, whether or not she was ready to talk about them with Booth and, perhaps most importantly, whether or not he was ready to acknowledge those changes and act on them.

Because something had just become very clear to her: She was in love with her partner, she wanted more than just a professional partnership with him, and there was no way that she could keep this to herself. Just like she had shared every other major event in her life with him, she needed to share this with him too. And how he reacted would determine the shape their partnership would take, it would determine the shape their future would take. Either way, one thing was certain: there was no going back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Starting Point**

**Disclaimer: **No, they're not mine. I'm just borrowing them for a little while. I'll return them as soon as I'm done - not exactly as I found them, cause let's face it the reason I borrowed them in the first place was to change them, wasn't it? But, hopefully, they'll be happier and more fulfilled by the time I'm through!

**A/N: **Well, here's the third chapter. Might be one of my longest and that is saying a lot!! lol. But it's the BB talk - _the talk, _we can't have that be half measures, can we? I've bumped the rating because of language a some very minor smut; but dont worry, following chapter will have full on smut. I hope to have that one out by Monday but I haven't started it yet, so it might be a bit longer; hopefully not because I really want to finish this story by the new year that way I can concentrate on the sequel to Breaking Point and the sequel to Men. Well, as always, thanks to Puppet for her help betaing and to everyone who took the time to review - you make writing and posting a pleasure!! Read, enjoy and review!!!

**Chapter 3 **

Brennan sat up straight on the sofa and opened her mouth to say something, but the sudden wave of panic that overcame her made it close straightway. She had thought she was ready; she had thought that the fact that she had faced what he meant to her, what they meant to each other, she thought that meant that she was ready to acknowledge it aloud and move forward to a romantic relationship.

But when the time came to actually speak, to actually take that step, she froze. What was she doing anyway, thinking of having a romantic relationship with Booth? He was too possessive, too demanding, too domineering, too . . . too . . . too much of an alpha male. Her relationship with him was already more complicated than any of her previous romantic entanglements, to add romance into that mix was just asking for trouble.

What had made her think this was a good idea? What had made her think she was ready for this – for any of it? Apparently, the past had a tighter grip on her than she had thought because the idea of being with him, of being that vulnerable to anyone, scared the crap out of her. He had so much clout over her and her life already; getting more intimately involved would just give him that much more influence and she wasn't sure she could deal with that.

He could be so bossy sometimes; always thinking he knew what was good for her – making her go home to rest when she wanted to keep working, or stopping by with food, or dragging her out of her office for lunch. Granted, he never made her do anything she really didn't want to do, and he always seem to have her best interest at heart, and he had never stood in the way of her career. On the contrary, he had always supported her, been there for her when she needed someone and even though she knew he didn't like it when she went on these working holidays, he had never really tried to talk her out of them. She was so lost in her internal argument that she never noticed when Booth stopped paying attention to the game and turned his attention to her.

"Hey, Bones," he said, nudging her legs, "You alright over there?"

"What?" She asked, coming back to real life abruptly. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Why?"

"Oh, I don't know," he told her with a grin. "Might have been all that muttering you were doing, made me wonder," he explained, turning to look at her. She hadn't really been muttering but something about her posture had changed in the last few minutes and that had alerted him that something more important than a new article was going around in that head of hers.

"I'm sorry," she said, as she shifted and straightened her legs on the sofa. "I didn't realize I was making any noise. I'll stop," she added, shaking her head.

"Don't worry about it," he told her, pulling her feet onto his lap and massaging them. "I don't mind; but if there's something bothering you, you know you can tell me."

"No, there's nothing bothering me," she started to deny, and then she just had to ask "what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he retorted with a small smile before turning his eyes back to the game. "I'm giving you a foot massage. If I know you at all, and I do, you've been on your feet for most of the past twelve days. Your feet must be killing you; in fact, I bet you're exhausted right about now."

She stared at him for a minute as he continued to massage her feet and watch the game. It was true, her feet were killing her and she was exhausted but she hadn't expected him to pick up on that. Then again, she really should have known better.

"Really, Booth," she said, as she tried to pull her feet back. "You don't have to . . ."

"I know I don't have to, Bones," he interrupted her, as he maintained a tight grip on her feet. "But I want to. Now, are you going to tell me what's going on in that ever active mind of yours?"

"Had you realized that we just spent the last hour and a half in silence?" she asked, before she knew she was going to be asking anything, but since she'd gone this far, she might as well finish it. "You've been watching your game and I've read my journal and except for a few comments here and there, we haven't exchanged two words with each other in all that time."

"No," Booth said with a shrug, apparently not finding that fact very surprising or upsetting, "I hadn't realized that."

"You don't find it at all weird?" she asked when that was all the answer he gave.

"Nope," he answered with another shrug, "not at all. I actually find it nice and . . . comforting."

"Comforting?" she repeated, distractedly.

"Yeah," he told her with a smile, as he turned his face to look at her. "You know, not having to keep up any small talk, not having to worry about entertaining the other person but just be able to relax, hang out and do our own thing. I think that's nice and comforting, don't you?"

"Ah, yes," she said, even as she marveled at how he was saying the same things she had been thinking earlier. "I guess it is."

"Was that what was bothering you?" Booth asked, as he turned back to the game again.

"No, not really," she told him, shaking her head. "I was just . . . You know, you've never said anything about my trips."

"About your trips?" he asked her, confused, as he once again turned back to face her. "What could I say about them?"

"I don't know," Brennan told him, shrugging. She had no idea why she was even mentioning this, but somehow, she couldn't stop. "But other than always admonishing me to be careful and threatening to come after me if I get in trouble, which by the way is unnecessary since I'm not a child and can take care of myself, you've never interfered whenever the chance for a trip comes up."

"Of course not," Booth said, seriously. "As long as you're safe, and yes I know you can take care of yourself," he added when she opened her mouth to protest, "that doesn't mean that I don't worry about your safety or that you don't have a tendency to get into trouble. No, don't argue; you know it's true. But your safety aside, I know how important those trips are to you. They're part of your job but they're also your hobby."

"Hobby?" she asked, irritated.

"Yes," he nodded, grinning. "A hobby; I know you take them very seriously and consider them part of your job, but I've come to understand how much you enjoy them and how they relax and recharge you. Why would I stand in the way of that? Even if I could, which let's face it, is a very iffy proposition at best, but even if I could, I wouldn't."

"No, you wouldn't," she agreed, as she played with the spine of the journal. "I know that."

"I'm glad," he said softly. "Was that what was bothering you?" He asked again, as he looked at her, searchingly.

"Yes," she answered quickly and then just as quickly changed it, "No."

"Which is it?" he asked with a small smile, confused as to what could be going on. It wasn't like Bones to be this indecisive.

"I . . ." she began and then trailed off. "I'm confused, Booth," she finally admitted. "I don't know what we're doing here."

"What do you mean?" he asked again, "we're sitting here; I'm watching a game and you're reading your journal."

"No," she denied, shaking her head. "I'm not talking about right now and you know it," she added, looking him in the eye.

He stared into her eyes and saw exactly what she meant. With a sigh, he muted the volume on the TV and gave her his full attention.

"Yes, I know," he agreed. He shifted so that his right leg was bent and on the couch and his left leg over his right foot. "Are you sure you want to have this conversation now?"

He'd known this conversation was coming and that it was inevitable; he'd just thought that it would have been him that started, and that forced her into it. He hadn't really thought that it would be the other way around but then maybe he should have expected it. She was nothing if not surprising; always keeping him on his toes by doing the thing he least expected. First she agreed with him that making love was more than having sex; then kissing him on the cheek when he allowed her brother to visit his daughter before arresting him and lastly, kissing him on the lips under the mistletoe. Now that he thought about it, maybe those instances should have been enough to alert him that this conversation was coming a lot sooner than he'd thought.

"Yes," Brennan said, firmly nodding her head even if her insides were in a knot, this was one conversation they had to have. "I'm sure."

"I'm not sure what you want me to tell you, Bones," he told her, as he raked his fingers through his hair. His relationship with her was too important for him to ruin it by saying something she was not ready to hear. God knew he would love to have a closer, more intimate relationship with her but not if it meant risking what they currently had.

"The truth, Booth; that's all I've ever wanted from you and that's what you've always given me, correct?" she asked him.

"Yes, Bones; I've always told you the truth and I always will," Booth reassured her, with a nod.

"I know," she said quietly. "Besides, this is not about what I _want_ you to tell me but about what _is_."

"Ok," Booth said slowly. He took a deep breath and said, "Well, I . . ." he shook his head as he trailed off.

"What are we, Booth?" She asked when it was obvious he wasn't going to continue. She had never seen him so flustered, well except when she tried to talk to him about sex. Wasn't it interesting that only talk of sex and their relationship got to him like this? She was sure that was significant and maybe she'd be able to figure it out if she wasn't so flustered herself, "Partners, friends, something more?"

"What do you think?" Booth asked, after a few minutes' pause.

"Oh, no," she answered, shaking her head vigorously. "You're not putting this on me. I asked you first. I want to know what you think," she said, as she straightened on the couch and pulled her legs to her chest.

"Alright," Booth told her, as he too sat up straight. "You want to know what I think we are. I'll tell you." He said, as leaned forward a bit and stared straight into her eyes. "I think that you're my partner – the best damn partner I've ever had. I've never worked so well with anyone; despite how different we are, we seem to bring the best out in each other. We cover all the bases and have one of the best track records in the Bureau.

"And I think that you're my friend, probably the closest and best friend I've ever had. I don't think anyone knows me better than you and I'm pretty sure no one knows you better than I do. I've never had a more intimate relationship . . ."

"But we've never been intimate!" Brennan protested, interrupting him.

"I'm not talking about physical intimacy, Bones," he said, before she continued. "That's easy; I'm talking about emotional intimacy and that's not so easy. After all, how hard is it to let someone into your bed? Not hard at all, but letting someone into your life and into your heart; really letting them in and letting them know the real you, the one without the mask, the person you are when no one's around – well, that's a lot harder, isn't it?

"You can only achieve that if you really trust the other person and you and I, Temperance, we trust, really trust, very few people. And, for me at least, you're one of those few people; perhaps the one I trust the most. That's why we can sit here, each lost in our own thoughts for hours, because we know each other enough that words aren't needed. I don't know if you realize how rare that is, Temperance," he said her name again and had her heart beating even harder than it already was. She wasn't sure what she found more disconcerting, the fact that he'd just called her by her first name twice in less than five minutes or the fact that his argument mirrored her earlier thought process so closely. She nodded to let him know she was following him, even as her mind was going a mile a second.

"And," Booth added before he paused and took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if continuing was a good idea but she'd started this conversation and, whether he was sure the time was right or not, he was going to finish it. "I think, no, I know you're the love of my life." There was utter silence after he finished speaking. For about five heartbeats neither one moved or talked – hell, for a moment there it seemed neither one breathed! He wasn't sure what he was expecting her reaction to be but her jumping up and almost running across the room wasn't it.

"No," she whispered over and over again. "No, you don't mean that," she said, shaking her head, as she turned around to look at him and crossed her arms around her torso. Even though this was the best she could have hoped for when she'd started the conversation, hearing him declare his feelings for her gave her as much panic as joy. "You can't mean that," she repeated, almost in a shout.

"Yes, I can," Booth said firmly and nodded, as he tried to regulate his breathing. He'd known she'd most likely be scared, even panicky but that didn't make it any easier to see her run from him.

"No, you can't," she denied again, still shaking her head and sounding very agitated.

"Why not?" he asked, as he started to sound a bit exasperated.

"Because," she started to say and then seemed to flag for a bit before she recovered and finished, "because of the line. The line you drew . . ."

"Fuck the line!!" he said forcefully, as he pushed himself off of the couch and started to walk towards her. He stopped a few inches from her and repeated, quieter, "fuck the line, Bones."

"But, but," she began, confused and more than a little taken back by the situation and his explosive reaction. "But _you_ drew the line, Booth," she finally said, as she regained her composure, straightened and looked him in the eye. "You said that . . ."

"I know what I said, Bones," he said abruptly, cutting her off. "I was the one that said it. But don't you think you can cut me some slack? I was not quite myself when I said it."

"You seemed very rational, and, quite yourself to me," she disagreed.

"Come on, Bones," he argued back, as he raked his fingers through his hair. "You know what I mean; Camille had almost died, Parker was almost abducted and you had been held at gunpoint. I was _not_ thinking clearly."

"But your arguments made sense, Booth," she continued to argue even as she wondered why she was doing so. As logical as his arguments might have been, she had never been completely convinced and she was even less so now.

"No, they didn't," Booth started to deny but stopped himself; he had never lied to her and he wasn't about to start now. He sighed deeply and gave in, "Ok, ok, so maybe they made sense." He took a couple of steps back, turned and paced a few feet before he turned around and paced back.

"Maybe in an ideal world, they make complete sense. Maybe people in our situation, with the jobs we have shouldn't get romantically involved," he granted with a shake of his head. "Maybe such a relationship can make it easier for the bad guys to find a weak spot and get to us; maybe the best thing we can do is to continue as platonic friends. And maybe that would be the best way to keep everyone safe." He paused a few inches from her again and stared steadily into her eyes.

"But we don't live in an ideal world," he continued. "We live in the real world and in this world the heart wants what the heart wants. And our hearts crossed that line a long time ago; hell, the line is so far behind us, I can't even see it anymore." He paused again to see how she was taking this but she just looked back at him, seemingly at a loss for words. That was a fairly unusual sight and he would have enjoyed it if the situation had not been what it was.

"Yes," he went on when it was clear she wasn't ready to speak yet "Us being together is a huge risk. If a criminal were to find out what we mean to each other, he could use that against us. But, tell me, what would really change? I mean," he clarified when he saw her frown in confusion. "If we stay as friends and nothing else and something happens to one of us, will it hurt any less? If one of us is in danger, would the other person not do whatever he/she can to assure the other one's safety? Wouldn't we move heaven and hell to find each other, to protect each other, to be there for the other person whether or not we were in a relationship? Do you really see either one of us caring less or not doing something we would do were we in a romantic relationship?"

"No," she said softly, shaking her head and remembering the awful hours the year before when she didn't know where he was and how she had been willing to do anything it took to get him back, including working with her fugitive father and lying to the FBI. "I don't."

"No, we wouldn't," he agreed just as softly as he remembered the awful hours when the gravedigger had her and he couldn't find her. "Because whether we've said it aloud out or not, we're already in a relationship. And there's nothing we wouldn't do for each other. That distance the line is supposed to represent has been absent in our relationship for a long time now, Temperance. Maybe we haven't been ready to admit it before now but . . ." He trailed off before saying, "I asked you if you were ready to have this conversation, Bones. You said yes and I took you at your word. To pretend that line still exists now – that's just denial of the highest order."

"I know," she agreed softly, still looking deeply into his eyes.

"Temperance," he said gently. "I'm not saying it's going to be easy; it'll probably be very hard. God knows neither one of us is an easy person; but I think it'll be worth it. And I don't think we can keep ignoring it anymore, either. We're at a point where we need to make a decision, we either move forward together to the next stage or we decide it's just not going to happen, we give up any dreams or notions of having a future together and look somewhere else for that future."

"I . . ." she started to say, frowning at that idea.

"Yes," he said with a small smile. "I don't like that alternative either. But we need to be sure we're in this one hundred percent because once we start down this path, there's no turning back. Like we said once, there are some people you can't have a casual affair with. I care too much for you and for our relationship to be able to enter into anything casual with you, Temperance. It's all or nothing with you and for a very long time, forever if I have anything to say about it."

"I . . . I'm scared, Booth," she admitted after a few moment's pause. "I'm afraid of what it could mean to our working relationship, to our friendship; and I'm afraid of how much I want it. I'm afraid of starting something and then having it all fall apart and no longer having you in my life. I need you, Booth," she confessed, in a low voice, as she took a step towards him and put her hand on his chest. "Like I haven't needed anyone since my parents and Russ, and I don't . . . I'm not comfortable with that feeling. Quite frankly, it scares the hell out of me."

"Of course you're scared, Temperance," Booth said tenderly as he cupped her cheek. "With your background, I'd be surprised if you weren't scared. And I can't promise I'll never leave you, no one can really promise that because there are no guarantees in life. The only sure thing is that we all die, sometimes sooner than we'd like; we more than anyone know that. But what I can promise you is that I'll never willingly do anything to hurt you and that I'll always be here for you when you need me."

"I know," she said, as she nuzzled her cheek into his hand. "I know that."

"And yet, you're still scared," he noted, recognizing the hesitancy in her eyes. At her nod, he moved his hand from her cheek towards her chin and lifted her head a bit so she was looking straight into his eyes again. "You're the strongest woman I know, Bones. Are you really going to let fear win? Are you willing to walk away from what we have, from what we could have because of what could happen? I'm not dismissing your fear; it's real and after everything that's happened in your life you're entitled to feel it. But, are you going to let it rule your life?"

He knew he probably was not being fair appealing to her competitive side in such a delicate situation but it was his life and future he was fighting for. Like he told her, he couldn't have a casual, temporary affair with her; it really was all or nothing, he didn't want to know what it was to have her only to lose her. He needed to be sure she was in this for the long run because this was it for him. As the saying went, everything's fair in love and war and Booth had a feeling this was a bit of both.

"Booth, I . . ." she started to say only to shake her head in frustration.

"I love you, Temperance. I want us; I want this to work. Are you willing to fight for it with me? Are you willing to give us a chance?" He paused and smiled in anticipation. "I know we can be great together; heck, Bones, you know it too because we already are great together. Imagine how much better we could be. It won't be all fun and games; it'll probably be a lot of hard work. We each have our own emotional baggage to deal with but, as long as we're together, I know we can get through anything. I just need to know you're with me in this; as long as I know that, nothing else will matter."

Brennan looked deep into his eyes and in them she saw love, tenderness, determination and strength. Everything that had always been there when he looked at her but which she had never wanted to acknowledge. But now she could no longer ignore them and as she stared at him, she also saw her future. A future that could be filled with love, laughter, bickering, passion and everything else she could want if she only found the courage to reach out and take it.

"I don't want to be alone, Booth," she admitted.

"You're not alone, Temperance," he assured her. "You never have to be alone again."

"I don't want to be afraid," she said and her eyes flickered from his eyes down to his mouth before shifting back up again.

"It doesn't matter if you're afraid," he told her, as he started to slowly lean forward. "As long as you don't let fear dictate your actions."

"Am I really the love of your life?" she asked, as she too leaned forward and her eyes lingered on his lips.

"Yes, you are," he confirmed in almost a whisper and he sneaked his other arm around her waist and the hand on her chin slid towards her nape.

"But what about Reb . . .?" she started to ask, in a murmur, when her lips where less than an inch from his.

"Bones?" he said quietly, shifting his eyes up to her eyes from his study of her lips.

"What?" she asked in a breathy whisper before she licked her lips.

"Shut up," he said before sealing his lips to hers. He had wanted to shut her more than a few times in the past but had always controlled the impulse; but now, he was free to shut her up in the manner he had always wished he could use.

Their first kiss had been uncertain, awkward, and full of apprehension as they had been in the presence of a puckish attorney. Their second kiss was private, tender and full of the certainty of their love. It was also steadily getting hotter as Booth's tongue nudged open her lips. She sighed as his tongue slipped inside her mouth and gently but firmly wrapped around her own.

All the passion and heat that they'd kept firmly locked down for the last three years began to escape as both started to lose control. His hands started to caress her back; one reaching all the way down to cup her ass, while the other stroked up her side to her breast. Brennan moaned and arched her back, pushing her breast more fully into his hand when he gently squeezed it.

As her brain started to cloud with the passion he so easily evoked, she pulled his tee-shirt out of his pants and snaked her hands beneath it. She gently scraped her nails up and down his skin making him shudder with the sensation. His arm tightened around her waist and his mouth left hers and rained kisses down her throat. She threw her head back with a gasp and dove one hand into his hair to guide it down her throat towards her cleavage.

Booth was about to lift her tank top off when he realized what he was doing. This wasn't the time for him to completely lose himself in her and in the feelings she stirred up. He wanted her, like he'd never wanted anything else, but he wanted their first time to be spectacular. After all, this was the last first time they would ever have; besides, he wanted to give her a proper courtship. He wanted them to be able to look back on this time 50 years from now and smile at the memories. That wouldn't be possible if he let what control he still retained slip through his fingers and took her against the wall like he wanted.

"Temperance," he said softly, as he pulled back from her soft skin.

"Ummm," she said, as she started to kiss his neck.

"Say it," he told her and she pulled back to look him in the eye. "Say it," he demanded again; that wasn't what he had intended to say but suddenly he needed to hear her say it.

"Say what?" she asked, coyly. "That you kiss very well? You do, very well indeed. I haven't been able to forget our last kiss. I've dreamt about it every night since then."

"Really?" he asked, distracted by that thought for the moment. "Me too, it was . . . Damn it, Bones, quit distracting me. Say it," he asked again.

She opened her mouth to continue teasing him some more but the honest need in his eyes changed her mind. With a gentle smile, she placed her hand on his cheek and said, "I love you, Booth."

His grin was immediate and lit his face even as it warmed her heart. He threw his head back and laughed before he picked her up and twirled her around a few times.

"Booth," she protested, laughing, and a few moments later whispered. "Let me go."

"Nope," he denied, shaking his head, as he softly put her down. "I'm never letting you go. And God help anyone that tries to interfere."

She shook her head at his typical statement even as she was comforted by it. She leaned forward to kiss him again and for a few minutes they lost each other in their passion again. Booth pulled back with an effort and after taking a deep breath, he guided her to the couch. He sat down and pulled her down onto his lap, with her legs to one side and her head resting on his shoulder while his arms encircled her. When she tried to kiss him again, he pulled back and she frowned.

"Booth?" she said, tentatively. "Is something wrong? I thought we both wanted. . .?"

"We do," he answered firmly when she trailed off, as if embarrassed. "I want you, Temperance, as I've never wanted anyone. But this is not the time and you know it. No," he said, shaking his head, and putting his finger on her lips when she opened them. "You know I'm right. Not only are you too tired from your trip to fully appreciate what will be our first time together but, it's too soon. We need time to get used to the changes and to get to know each other."

"But you just said that we know each other better than anyone else does," she protested.

"Yes," Booth nodded. "We do know each other as partners and friends but not as lovers. We need time to get to know all those sides of the other we've never seen. Besides, I'd like to date you for a while, take our time and do things right."

"You really are a romantic, aren't you?" she asked with a smile that turned into a grin when he blushed. "Ok, so we wait. Does that mean that we're dating?"

"Yep, we're dating," he agreed, happily. "Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Aha," she said and then added, "And does that mean you're my boyfriend and I'm you're girlfriend."

"My girlfriend?" he repeated with a chuckle. "Yep, I really like that."

"Yeah, you would," she agreed with a fake grimaced. "That's your alpha male side coming out."

"Maybe," he agreed with a careless shrug. "But, admit it, you love that side."

"Ummm," she said again, neither agreeing nor denying it. "What does all this mean for work?" She asked, seriously. As good as all this felt, she couldn't ignore that it would have repercussions in their working environment.

"Well," he answered, slowly, "whatever you want to tell Angela and the rest of the squints is fine with me. The lab is your domain after all."

"I think we should wait," she started and hurried to clarify when it became clear that, regardless of what he'd just said, he didn't like that plan. "Not for long, but I'd like to get to know each other in these new roles without any pressure, interference or observation. And you know there'll be all three as soon as we say something."

"Yes, you're right," he conceded. "Ok, we wait for a while then. But I think I should tell Cullen as soon as possible."

"You think it's necessary?" she asked, not sure she liked that idea any more than Booth had liked the idea of waiting.

"Yes," he said, firmly. "Not only is he my boss but I like and respect the man. I wouldn't like him to find out about this from anyone else."

"Ok, whatever you think it's best," she granted; it was his job place after all. He ought to be one to make the decision. "What do you think he'll do? Do you think he'll separate us?"

"I don't know," Booth admitted. "The FBI has a rule against partners being involved but you're not an FBI agent so that rule shouldn't apply to you. On the other hand, you go out into the field with me, so I don't know."

"Well," Brennan said, as she shifted and sat up straighter. "Why don't you tell him that I won't work with any other agent but you? If they separate us, you'll either have to work with Zack,"

"Which is not going to happen," Booth interrupted her, saying it firmly. "I'll ask for reassignment first."

"Right," she acknowledged his point and went on. "Or if they send someone else, he will have to work with Zack too because I won't be working with the FBI anymore."

"Bones," he said, touched that she'd be willing to give up her FBI work when he knew how much it meant to her, but not sure this would be the best way to get that point across. "I don't think I should tell Cullen this, at least not right now and not this way."

"Why?"

"Because it sounds a lot like you're blackmailing him," he explained, patiently.

"That is exactly what I'm doing," she agreed with a shrug.

"I know that, Bones," he told her with a small laugh. "But you can't do that."

"Why not?" she asked curiously. "I blackmailed you into letting me go out to the field with you in the beginning and that worked out. And Caroline blackmailed me into kissing you on the lips and that worked out great too."

"Yes," he granted, with a grin, even as he shook his head in disbelief. "But it's one thing to blackmail an FBI agent or a colleague for whom you're doing a favor; it's another thing entirely to blackmail a Deputy Director of the FBI."

"Really?" she asked again. 

"Yes, really," Booth answered, firmly. "It's a federal offense; I really don't think that's the way to get what we want. We have a great record, Bones; as long as we continue to conduct ourselves professionally, I don't see that Cullen will have much of a problem. We'll probably be put on some sort of probation but that'll most likely be the extent of it."

"Well, if you're sure," she allowed, though she didn't sound so sure herself.

"I am," he affirmed. "Don't worry." She nodded again and relaxed against his chest. He was right, she was tired but she wasn't ready to let him go yet. For his part, Booth was more than happy to sit there holding her for as long as she'd allow; he'd really missed her. But there was something going around and around in his mind and he finally had to asked her.

"Bones?"

"Yes," she responded, as she snuggled closer to him.

"Bones," he said again, before he asked what he was dying to know. "What was it that brought this up?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, as she shifted so that she could look up at his face.

"I mean," he explained. "That I would like to know what was it that made you bring this up? What made you want to talk about our relationship now? What made you realize you were ready for it?"

"Well," she started to answer and then looked up at him through her eyelashes as she asked, "promise not to laugh?"

He was surprised to hear the question but readily agreed, only to break his word, as he burst out laughing as soon as she answered.

"You said you wouldn't laugh!!" she reprimanded him, as she tried to push herself off his chest. He tried to control his chuckles as he held her against him.

"I'm sorry," he said, choking off a laugh. "I really am; but Bones, you gotta agree that you saying a song was what brought all of this into the light is pretty funny."

She crossed her arms and looked straight ahead until he calmed down and hugged her, begging her forgiveness. When she finally consented to give it, he asked to hear the song.

"You don't know it," she told him, as she got up and went to look for her Ipod.

"How do you know that?" he called out after her, somewhat offended. "I'll have you know that I like a wide range of music and know different types of songs and . . ."

"It's in Spanish," she said simply, cutting off his tirade, as she walked back into the living room and towards the Ipod set up.

"Ok," he conceded. "You got me; I probably won't know it. But you can translate it for me, can't you?" He asked, as he walked up to her, put his arms around her waist and his chin on her shoulder.

"Sure," she agreed easily.

"Good," he nodded and when the first few soft notes began to play, he took a few steps back and pulled her gently into his arms. "Dance with me," he urged and she smiled and put her arms around his neck. Looking into his eyes, she started to translate the song that had changed her life.

_Acompáñame a estar solo_/ Accompany me to be alone  
_A purgarme los fantasmas_/ To purge myself of the ghosts  
_A meternos en la cama sin tocarnos_/ To go to sleep without touching  
_Acompáñame al misterio_/ Accompany me in the mystery  
_De no hacernos compañía_/ of not keeping each other company  
_A dormir sin pretender que pase nada_/ To sleep without expecting anything to happen  
_Acompáñame a estar solo_/ Accompany me to be alone  
_Acompáñame al silencio_/ Accompany me in the silence  
_De charlar sin las palabras_/ Of chatting without words  
_A saber que estás ahí y yo a tu lado_/ To know that you're there and I'm at your side _Acompáñame a lo absurdo de abrazarnos sin contacto_/ Accompany me in the absurdity of hugging without contact  
_Tú en tu sitio yo en el mío_/ You in your place and me in mine  
_Como un ángel de la guarda_/ Like a guardian angel  
_Acompáñame a estar solo_/ Accompany me to be alone  
Chorus  
_Acompáñame a decir sin las palabras_/ Accompany me to say without words  
_Lo bendito que es tenerte_/ what a blessing it is to have you

_y serte infiel solo con esta soledad_/ And be unfaithful only with this solitude  
_Acompáñame A quererte sin decirlo_/ Accompany me to love you without saying it  
_A tocarte sin rozar ni el reflejo de tu piel a contraluz_/ To touch you without even grazing your skin against the light  
_A pensar en mí para vivir por ti_/ And think of me to live for you  
_Acompáñame a estar solo_/ Accompany me to be alone  
_Para calibrar mis miedos_/ To calibrate my fears  
_Para envenenar de poco a poco mis recuerdos_/ To poison my memories little by little  
_Para quererme un poquito_/ To love myself a little  
_Y así quererte como quiero_/ And so love you like I want  
_Para desintoxicarme del pasado_/ To detoxify myself from the past  
_Acompáñame a estar solo_/ Accompany me to be alone  
chorus  
_Y si se apagan las luces_/And if the lights go off  
_Y si se enciende el infierno_/And if hell goes up in flames  
_Y si me siento perdido_/ And if I feel lost  
_Se que tú estarás conmigo_/ I know that you'll be with me  
_Con un beso de rescate_/ with a kiss to rescue me  
_Acompáñame a estar solo_/ Accompany me to be alone  
chorus

When the song ended, he leaned forward to kiss her gently on the lips, as he whispered, "you're right it is a beautiful song, and I'm glad you found it."


	4. Chapter 4

**Starting Point**

**Disclaimer: **No, they're not mine. I'm just borrowing them for a little while. I'll return them as soon as I'm done - not exactly as I found them, cause let's face it the reason I borrowed them in the first place was to change them, wasn't it? But, hopefully, they'll be happier and more fulfilled by the time I'm through!

**A/N: **Well, it took a bit longer than I'd thought it'd take and it didn't turn quite as steamy (as puppet put it) as I thought it'd be, but here it is, chapter 4!! As always, thanks to Puppet for all the help and to those that reviewed!! Two things I forgot to say in the previous chapters: Bertucci's is a real restuarant in the Northeast of the country that I absolutely adore!! Two; Acompanane a Estar Solo is a song by Ricardo Arjona, a Guatemalan singer/songwriter who writes absolutely beautiful songs - if you speak Spanish you'd know how beautiful it really is because it loses something in the translation but I had to used it because that's what sparked this fic. And if anyone wants to hear it, ask me and I'll get you a link to utube, or you can try to get it yourself. I'd post it here but you guys know we can't post links. Anyway, here's the chapter and please tell me your honest opinion!!

**Chapter 4 **

"Sweetie?" Angela said, as she walked into Brennan's office, waving her sketch pad. "I have the face of the latest World War II soldier from limbo."

"Ummm," Brennan said distractedly, as she looked up from the files she was organizing. "That's good, Ange," she told the artist, as she reached forward and took the sketch she was being handed.

"He was a handsome young man," Angela said absently, as she took a good look at Brennan's desk. "What are you doing?" she asked, tilting her head and studying her best friend with the same curiosity Hodgins studied his insects.

"I'm packing up," was the off-hand answer, as she put away the sketch and went back to her packing.

"Yes, I can see that," Angela said slowly. "But why? It's not even 5 yet!! How come you're leaving?"

"Yeah, well," the anthropologist answered with a shrug. "I have something I need to get ready for."

"Ready for?" Angela asked, as a gleam of interest appeared in her eyes. "Do you have a date?"

"Yes," Brennan affirmed. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Well," Angela answered, as she walked towards the couch and perched on its arm. "Because you're Dr. Temperance Brennan and you don't do holidays. Well," she amended with a grin, "you didn't used to do holidays; now you do Christmas and apparently Valentine's Day. What happened to the over-commercialization of the day and how it's silly to celebrate it with candy and roses and . . ."

"Yes, well," Brennan interrupted what she knew could become a lecture. "He insisted," she admitted with a shrug. And then after her breath, she muttered, "he had to go and be a complete romantic."

"He insisted?" Angela asked, even more interested; she'd known there was something going on with Brennan. "And you went along with it? Just how long have you been dating this guy, anyway?"

"A few weeks," Brennan answered, as she turned to her computer to check her inbox one last time before turning it off.

"A few weeks?" Angela repeated, surprised. "How come I didn't know of it?"

"Because," Brennan started to answer, as she finished turning off the computer and turned to look at Angela. "It's all so new Angela, I just wanted some time to get used to it, thats all. I wasn't really keeping it from you, really," she added because she'd heard a note of hurt in Angela's voice.

"It's ok; I understand," Angela graciously said and went on to more interesting subjects; she'll get back to that later. "But tell me, is it serious?"

"Yes," Brennan admitted softly, as she leaned her elbows on her desk. "I think it's as serious as it can get."

"Really?" Angela asked, even more surprised and not quite knowing how to feel about it. "Does Booth know?" 

"Yes," Brennan said with a nod. "He knows."

"What does he say?" Angela asked, thinking that maybe that was what had been going on. She had noticed that there was something different between the partners. She couldn't quite put her finger on it; it wasn't like they were fighting but there was just something about them that wasn't quite . . . right.

"He's happy," Brennan answered, with a small and somewhat secretive smile.

"Really?" Angela asked, not quite convinced. "Does he know this mystery guy of yours?"

"Yes, quite well actually," Brennan knew Angela was concerned, and sincerely interested, but she couldn't help but have a little fun at her expense.

"How does Booth know him?" Angela persisted, knowing there was something more to the story.

"Well, he sees him every morning in the mirror," Brennan replied dryly, thinking that she had definitely been hanging around Booth too long.

It took Angela a few seconds to figure out what that meant, not only was Brennan's tone very dry and serious but it was Brennan that had said it. One did not associate Brennan with such quips; that was more Booth's style.

"You're dating Booth?" Angela asked, in something close to a screech, once she finally recovered from the shock and found her voice again.

"Yes, I am," Brennan said simply. Angela opened and closed her mouth, not sure of what to say and for once completely taken off guard.

"How long?" Angela inquired, as she leaned forward in interest. "How long have you two been together? And how come I didn't know about it?" Brennan lightly flinched at the note of hurt that once again entered Angela's voice; it seemed that finding out it had been Booth that Brennan had been seeing made Angela feel more left out than if it had been some anonymous third party.

"About five weeks," Brennan answered. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but I just needed this time to come to grips with everything; to get used to it." Angela nodded to show she understood; she might not like it, but she understood.

"Since you came back from Peru, then?" Angela asked, leaving out the topic of her not being told before. "So, what happened? How did it come about? Tell me everything," she urged when Brennan nodded, as she got up from her perch on the arm of the sofa and went to lean against Brennan's desk. 

"I listened to a song on the way back and that started me thinking," Brennan told her, as she shifted in her chair to better face her curious friend.

"About?" asked an inpatient Angela.

"About Booth and me and our relationship and how it's been changing whether we've wanted it to or not," Brennan answered with a thoughtful look on her face. "When we got home, I couldn't stop thinking about it; so finally, I talked to him about it."

"You did?" Angela asked, wondering if she could be more surprised that evening. "You brought up the subject?"

"Yes, I did," Brennan nodded and then frowned. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Well, sweetie," Angela answered, soothingly. "You have to admit that you have rarely, if ever, started a conversation about feelings and relationships; in fact, you usually ran from them and do everything in your power to avoid them."

"Yes, well," Brennan said, conceding the point, "sometimes, there comes a point where you just can't avoid the conversation anymore."

"Yes, you're right," Angela replied. "I'm just surprised that you recognized that point, is all. But I'm glad you did," she added when she saw Brennan had opened her mouth to protest. "So, what did Booth have to say?"

"He told me he loved me," Brennan said, telling Angela the most important part of what Booth had said that night.

"He did?" Angela asked; she was staring to feel like all she'd done since she'd walked into Brennan's office was ask question after question. "Well, of course he did," she answered herself, "he loves you. We all know that; the question is what did you say?"

"I told him I loved him too," was the simple and quiet response. Angela nodded, almost to the point of not being able to be surprised anymore. She studied Brennan for a moment and decided, that it was not the moment to ask for any details that would come later, right now she wanted to be certain Brennan was doing fine with all the changes.

"So, how are you doing?" Angela asked. "You know, with the new relationship and all the changes it's brought?"

"Good," Brennan said and then because this was Angela, she went on. "It's not easy; loving, needing and depending on someone else makes you vulnerable. It leaves you wide open to being hurt by them."

"Booth would never hurt, though," Angela argued.

"Not willingly, no," Brennan agreed. "He would never do anything to hurt me but sometimes things happen that even he can't control. We have dangerous jobs, Angela and sometimes things just happen; there are no guarantees in life."

"No, there aren't," Angela granted. "And yet, you still went ahead with the relationship," though it was said as an statement, it sounded more like a question and Brennan answered it as such.

"Yes, I did," she said, with a small nod. "What would have been the alternative? Once your heart crosses that line, there's no going back. Once I finally acknowledged that my heart had crossed it, there wasn't anything else I _could_ do. I couldn't have kept pretending; it wouldn't have done any good and I am not one to run from the truth. It's scary, yes, but it's also very right. Besides, I wasn't going to stand around and wait for some one else to come around and catch his eye, was I?"

"No," Angela said with a laugh. "I guess you weren't. I'm proud of you, sweetie," she added when she stopped chuckling at the image of Brennan beating the women off Booth with a stick. "I'm very proud of you for recognizing your feelings, deciding what you wanted and going after it without letting fear stand in your way."

"Yeah, well," Brennan said with a grimace. "Don't be too proud; I'm still scared and panic on a semi regular basis."

"But you haven't run," Angela pointed out.

"Only because Booth won't let me," Brennan admitted with a rueful laugh. "He somehow always know when I'm panicking and talks me down; doesn't let me get two steps away before he's pulling me back and making me face my fears so that they lose their strength."

"That man does know you very well," Angela commented. "And he knows how to make you feel better. I've always said he was good for you."

"Well, he isn't perfect, you know?" Brennan told her with a shake of her head and a fake frown. "He has more than his share of foibles and bad habits and his own emotional baggage to deal with."

"No man is perfect, sweetie," Angela agreed with a small smile, as she stood up to leave. "But Hodgins and Booth are as close to perfect as we're likely to get, probably because they're perfect for us." When Brennan nodded, Angela started to walk towards the door, "Well, I'll leave you now so you can go and get ready for you're hot date tonight. But," she added, as she stopped by the door and turned her head to stare at Brennan, "I expect you to take off two hours for lunch tomorrow and to invite me to a very good restaurant where you will proceed to tell me every detail of how you two got together and what you have been up to these last five weeks, got it?"

"Got it," Brennan told her. With a nod and a small, Angela walked out of Brennan's office, leaving the good doctor staring after her; both dreading and looking forward to the girl's lunch time the following day. She had known it was coming as soon as Angela found out about Booth and their new relationship. But it was a small price to pay to completely erase the hurt she'd seen in the artist's eyes.

--------------------------

"Angela knows about us," Brennan told Booth a few hours later, towards the end of their dinner.

"She does?" Booth asked, as he put down his wine glass. "So, you finally decided to tell her, huh?"

"Not exactly," Brennan denied, as she put down her fork. "She came into my office when I was getting ready to leave earlier today and wanted to know why. And when I told her I had a date later on, well, she knew something was up and wouldn't leave until she got an answer."

"Well, Dr. Temperance Brennan leaving early is weird enough, add to that the fact that she also has a date on Valentine's Day, and I can see how Angela would be curious," Booth said with a grin.

"Yes, well," she told him with a fake grimace, "it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't insisted that we go out tonight. I'd have been perfectly happy staying in; don't see why we had to go out at all."

"It's Valentine's Day, Bones," he said patiently, in the matter of tone one has that's explained the same thing more than a few times before. "And, it's our first Valentine's Day together. We had to come out and celebrate!"

"Yes, of course," she said with an almost patronizing nod, which he chose to ignore.

"So, what did Angela say?" Booth wanted to know.

"She was a bit hurt that I hadn't told her before," Brennan told him, somberly. "But she understood and is happy for us. Of course, to make it up to her," she added, with a roll of her eyes, "I'll be taking her to her favorite restaurant tomorrow for a two hour lunch where she'll proceed to interrogate me about every detail of our relationship."

"That sounds like Angela," Booth commented, laughing. Brennan nodded her agreement as she took her last bite and putting her fork down, pushed her plate a few inches away from her. She picked up her glass of wine and relaxed in her chair.

"How was your dinner?" he asked, pointing to her plate, as he, himself, took his last bite.

"It was lovely, Booth," she said, sincerely. "Thank you."

"I'm glad you had a good time," he said, as he reached forward and grasped her hand. "I wasn't sure whether you would have liked something fancier," he started to explained.

"Booth," she interrupted him, squeezing his hand. "You know I love this restaurant. Besides neither of us is really the fancy restaurant type, are we?" She asked and he shook his head with a rueful grin. "Then stopped worrying; I had a great time."

Booth nodded and said, "Me too." With a last squeeze, they let go of the other's hand and leaned back on their chairs. He took a sip of his wine as he looked around the restaurant; the romantic in him hadn't been able to resist bringing her to Bertucci's for dinner. Not only was it a favorite of both of theirs, but the pizza they'd had the night it all started had been from Bertucci's.

"You know that chocolate mousse cake you like so much?" he asked her after a few moments of silence. At her nod, he asked, "how would you like to have that as dessert?"

"I'd love it," she answered with a confused smile. "But you know they don't serve that here."

"I know that," he agreed. "That's why I bought a couple of slices earlier on. They're waiting for us back at my apartment. So, what do you say we go get them?"

She nodded, enthusiastically. She really loved that cake and while dinner had been lovely, she was ready to move their celebration to a more private setting.

Forty minutes later, their shoes were by the door of Booth's apartment, Brennan's purse was on the table by the door and her wrap was on the chair next to the table. Booth's coat was thrown on the back of the living room's chair and his suit jacket and tie were on its arms.

Booth and Brennan were cuddled on one end of the sofa; he had his back to the arm of the sofa and her back was nestled against his chest. Booth had both arms around her waist while Brennan held a plate filled with her favorite cake.

"This is amazing," she purred, as she swallowed a moderate bite of the sweet confection.

"Are you going to eat it all by yourself?" he asked, as he tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed the place where her neck met her shoulder. "I've barely had a taste!" He complained, as he gently nipped her skin; it was true that Brennan was only giving him one bite for every three she took, but he was more than happy to taste her skin instead.

"I've been sharing it with you!" she argued back but not very believingly.

"Uh huh," he said absently, as he nudged the neckline of her dress aside with his chin. "Sure you have," he added in a tone that said he could care less about the subject. "Are you done?"

"Yes," she said, as she took her last bite. "I'm quite done."

"Good!" Booth said, as he gently shifted her forward and jumped off the sofa, taking her plate with her. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

Brennan shifted forward on the sofa and watched him moved towards the kitchen and the hall beyond with a bemused smile. A few moments later, he was back and walking towards her with an intense and almost predatory look. When he was standing in front of her, he took her hands and pulled her to her feet.

"Bones," he said gently, as he cupped her cheek with his hand and lowered his head to hers while pulling her closer with his other hand on her waist.

The kiss started slow and tender and gradually turned deeper and hotter. Brennan buried her hands in his hair and he slid his from her cheek to her nape while his hand at her waist moved down to her ass to bring her pelvis tight against his own.

Brennan fisted her left hand in his hair while her right hand crept down his back, grasping and releasing until it arrived at his waist where she pulled his shirt from his pants and sneaked her hand beneath it to caress his naked skin.

"Temperance," he groaned when she dropped her left hand from his hair to his butt and squeezed. "Hold on! I want to do this right," with that, he bent down and swept her up in his arms.

"Booth!" she called, laughing as she threw her arms around his neck. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked as he started to walk towards his bedroom. "I've swept you off your feet."

"Well," she said, grinning. "Yes, I see that, but why on . . . ?" the question she started to ask drifted into silence when she saw his bedroom; the room was filled with lit candles and roses.

"Seeley," she breathed, as she looked around at the vision before her. "It's beautiful," she told him, moved at the thoughtfulness of the gesture; she might not be inclined towards the romantic, but she was genuinely touched at all the effort he must have gone through to give her an unforgettable night.

"Not as beautiful as you," he told her, as he gently set her on her feet. "I love you," he told her tenderly, as he leaned forward and kissed her deeply. The kiss quickly turned heated and he set his hands to find the zipper to her dress.

She was wearing a black fitted square neck dress with covered shoulders and back; she had worn her hair down and simple black pumps adorned her feet. Booth had been entranced by how beautiful she'd looked, but at the moment he was rather more preoccupied in figuring out how to get her out of it.

"Where's the zipper in this darn dress?" he asked, grumpily and had her chuckling as she took a small step away from him.

"It doesn't have a zipper," she told him with a naughty grin. "You pull it over the head," she instructed, as she took a hold of the skirt and started to pull it up. "Like this," with that, she pulled the dress over her head and threw it behind her, leaving him opened mouth and speechless before her.

"You are beautiful," he murmured, as his eyes ran over her body from toes to head and back again.

She smiled at his dazed expression and stepped closer to him. "Are you just going to stare at me or are you going to actually touch me?" she asked, as she leaned forward so that her lips were a breath apart from his.

"Oh," Booth answered with a hungry grin, as he reached forward and picked her up, "I most certainly intend to touch – all of you," with that he turned and gently tossed her to the bed.

"You seemed to be overdressed for the occasion, aren't you?" she asked him, with a hungry look of her own when he made to follow her onto the bed.

"I am, aren't I?" he asked and in less than half a minute, he was down to his boxers. This time it was her turn to run her eyes from toes to head in admiration. In the five weeks they'd been together, they'd messed around but hadn't really seen each other naked; neither one had trusted themselves enough for it. Booth dropped down to the bed and took off his socks before leaning towards her.

"I love you," he told her softly before he kissed her. The kiss started slow and tender but they were two people in love, who were naked, had been in lust for over three years and had teased each other for five weeks, so it quickly turned hot, deep and explosive.

Brennan groaned and gripped his head, as she tried to move closer to him. When she reached down to try and push his boxers off, he pulled back to look at her.

"Slowly, Temperance," he told her, as he smiled into her eyes and played with her hair. "We have all night."

"But Booth," she whined, "we already waited five weeks!"

"Yes, we have," he agreed with a grin, her whining was a new aspect to her that he found adorably cute. "But this is our first time, why don't we make love tonight? We can have crazy, fast and hard sex tomorrow, what do you say?"

"You promise?" she asked with a gleam in her eyes.

"I do," he answered. Then his eyes got very dark and in a hoarse voice, he added, "Let's see if we can defy physics and have us a miracle, huh? Let's see if we can become one."

"Yes, let's try," she said in a husky whisper. At her words, the fire in his eyes blazed so hot she was sure it was going to scorch her. He was kissing her the next moment and every thought she'd had flew right out of her head.

He lifted his head when the need for oxygen became paramount. He started to rain kisses down her throat as he reached beneath her and one handedly unclasped her bra. He shifted down the bed after throwing the bra on top of his clothes. He hovered a few moments over her chest, studying the feast in front of him before he fell on her like a starving man on a banquet.

He licked around one breast then moved to the other, all the while avoiding her nipples. He kept going around in constrictive circles, ignoring her pleas. She grasped his head and tried to guide him to where she wanted him but he was stronger and resisted the pull until she was a mass of writhing need.

When he finally opened his mouth and took her nipple, she tightened her hands on his hair and threw her head back on a moan. He suckled her strong and deep for a few minutes before he moved to the other nipple and had her constantly moaning.

When her nails were digging into his shoulder due to the sensations, he started to kiss his way down her body. He sent his hands to explore her soft skin ahead of his mouth as he slowly made his way down the body. When he arrived at her belly button, he stopped to nibble on it and thrust his tongue in it while his hands played with her panties.

"Lovely," he murmured, as he continued down. "You are so lovely." He played with the elastic of her panties before finally pulling them down and off. After throwing them over his shoulder, he slid his hands on the outside of her legs, when he reached her thighs he shifted his hands to her inner thighs and slowly parted them. He shifted forward and was just about to bury his mouth in her wet heat when she tugged on his hair and called to him.

"Booth," she said, urgently. "Come up here."

"But, Temperance," he protested, resisting her tugging. "I want to taste you."

"And I'd love for you to taste me," she admitted in a throaty voice. "Just as I'll love to taste you, but this is our first time, as you keep insisting, and right now I'd really just like to feel you in me. I just want to be with you, Seeley. I don't need anything else but to feel you next to me."

"Temperance," he breathed, as he moved up her body at the insistence of her hands, moved that she had at last understood what he meant by making love. He stopped here and there to kiss her skin, whispering, "I love you. I've never wanted anyone more. You're so beautiful."

"I love you, too," she told him when he was once again in front of her face. She reached one hand into his hair while the other was caught by his. He looked deeply into her eyes as he finally entered her body. They whispered the other one's names as the feeling of being complete over took them.

Booth began an easy and slow rhythm that soon picked up speed as the pleasure they were feeling overwhelmed them.

"I love you!," they both said at the moment they achieved climax, as their hands clung together and their eyes closed.

A few moments later, when they regained their breath and senses, he asked her, "So, did we defy the laws of physics?"

"Well," she answered, thoughtfully. "Becoming one goes against everything I've ever learned, but," she added when he groaned and dropped his head, but a second later he perked up when she continued, "there might be something to the miracle thing, because for one moment there, I do believe we became one." 


	5. Chapter 5

**Starting Point**

**Disclaimer: **No, they're not mine. I'm just borrowing them for a little while. I'll return them as soon as I'm done - not exactly as I found them, cause let's face it the reason I borrowed them in the first place was to change them, wasn't it? But, hopefully, they'll be happier and more fulfilled by the time I'm through!

**A/N: **Well, here's the last chapter. I am sorry it's taken so long but all in all, I think this might be the soonest I've ever finished a fic before. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The promised sequel to Breaking Point will come but now I'm going to concentrate on the sequel to Men from the Gate. I hope you check that one too. Ok, thanks to all of you that bothered to review and to Pup for all her help and encouragement. Read and review!!!

**Chapter 5**

"Dr. Bones!!" Parker called out impatiently, "Come on, hurry up!!! We need to leave already!!"

"I'm coming, Park! I'm coming," she called out from inside the house.

"Parker, buddy," Booth said, tossing his son's hair. "Take it easy; Bones'll be out in a minute; she's just making sure we didn't forget anything."

"But Daddy," Parker protested. "I wanna go!! The day's a wasting."

"Where did you learn that expression?" A surprised Booth asked. Parker just shrugged and walked towards Brennan as she walked out of the house.

"Come on, Dr. Bones!! Let's go," he said, as he took her hand and pulled her towards the parked car.

"Ok, ok," Brennan said laughing, throwing Booth an amused glance, as she and Parker walked by him on their way to the car. "I'm here, already; let's go."

"Yay!!" Parker said and turned his head to look back at his dad. "Come on, Daddy. We're ready, let's go!"

"Ok, buddy," Booth said, as he grinned and followed them to the car. "Let's get this vacation started, huh? So," he said, turning to look at Brennan, once they were seated in the car and he was about to turn it on. "We have everything?"

"Yes," Brennan nodded, while Parker enthusiastically agreed from the back. "We have everything; we should go before Parker here has an aneurysm," she smiled at Parker in the review mirror.

"I will not," Parker denied automatically; it seemed that bickering with Brennan was a gene that Parker had inherited from his father. "Daddy, what's an enu . . . anu . . . anurisym?"

"Aneurysm," Brennan repeated and went on to explain, "An aneurysm is an abnormal widening or ballooning of a portion of an artery, related to weakness in the . . ."

"She was trying to make a joke, buddy," Booth said, interrupting the impromptu scientific lesson. "She just meant that we should get moving before you have a tantrum."

"Oh," Parker said and thought about it for a minute. "I don't throw tantrums; I'm a big boy now," Parker told Brennan seriously, nodding his head for emphasis.

"I know you are, Parker," Brennan said, reassuringly as she turned her head to smile at him; when she turned back around, she couldn't resist adding, "Though, I don't know how much age has to do with tantrums; your father is quite a bit older than you and he's been known to throw his share of tantrums."

"Hey, hey, Bones," Booth said, shaking his finger while Parker laughed in the back seat and Brennan settled comfortably on her seat with a smug smile. "There's no need for name calling, is there?"

She just continued to smile as she winked at Parker in the review mirror again. Soon Parker was engrossed in his game boy and Booth and Brennan were relaxing, as they listened to the radio.

"You ok, Bones?" Booth asked her quietly, after they'd been driving in silence for a few moments. He knew how nervous she'd been about the trip and being with Parker for a whole two weeks.

"Yes," Brennan said with a small smile. "I am."

"Good," he said, nodding and grinning. He then shifted his eyes back to the road and started to hum along with the music and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

Brennan looked at him for a few more minutes with a gentle smile before she turned around to check on Parker. The smile changed into a grin when she saw that Parker had the same expression Booth always wore when he was working on paperwork. With a slight shake of her head, she marveled at how much that little guy was like his father. With a contented sigh, she turned back around, closed her eyes, and nestled back into her seat. A few minutes later, Booth's quiet humming and Parker's excited cries lulled her into sleep.

Almost an hour later, Booth was keeping an eye out for a rest stop with restaurants because he knew that Parker would be hungry as soon as his excitement dwindled down. They'd gotten up so early, no one had felt like having breakfast. As if on cue, Parker leaned forward, as much as his seat belt would allow, and said, "Daddy, I'm hungry."

"Ok, buddy," Booth said, as he half turned his head to smile at his son. "How about McDonald's?" he asked, as he saw the golden arches on the next exit sign.

"Yay!" Parker said, jumping up and down on his seat. "I love McDonald's!"

"I know, Parker, I know," Booth said, as he changed lanes. "But keep it down, will ya buddy? Bones's sleeping."

"Ok, daddy," Parker agreed, nodding. "But isn't Dr. Bones going to eat too?"

"We'll get her something later," Booth told him, as he took the exit ramp. "Once she wakes up, we'll get her what she wants. But let's let her sleep for the moment, alright?"

"Alright," Parker nodded again. A few minutes later, Parker was happily eating his breakfast on the back seat while Booth ate his one handed. He looked over at Brennan to see if the commotion of getting the food had woken her up; but she was still dead to the world.

It was no wonder, though; she had been staying late at work all week to avoid getting behind in her work. Though she had still been unsure about vacationing with him and Parker, she had decided that the least she could do was to try and get as much work done as she could. She had stayed so late at the lab, in fact, that she had gone back to her own place every night.

It had been the first time since Valentine's Day that they'd gone so long without spending a night together and he had missed her. In fact, he had missed her so much that he had kept her pretty busy the night before, despite the fact that Parker had been sleeping down the hall. He was pretty sure that that was also a factor in her continued sleep; the poor woman was completely worn out.

He turned his attention back to the road and decided that he had better erase the smug grin he was wearing before she woke up and gave him hell for it. With a shake of his head, he thought back over the last three years and couldn't believe how far they'd come. They'd gone from being reluctant partners to best friends and now to lovers. Despite her fears and tendency to panic at the deepening intimacy, they had managed to move forward and were now at a comfortable place in their new relationship.

She had even picked up Parker from school when he got sick to his stomach a few days before the end of the school year. Booth had been stuck in an endless meeting and Rebecca's cell had suddenly died, leaving her unreachable. The school had called Brennan when they hadn't been able to locate either parent, as Booth had added her as an emergency contact. She had been a nervous wreck on the way to pick him up and had barely known what to do with him once she had him, but she had gone and had ended up looking after him for the remainder of the day.

The warm sensation Booth had felt when he'd arrived at his place to find both his son, and the woman he loved asleep on the couch together had been indescribable. Though, it _had_ very much resembled what he'd felt as he held her close after the first time they'd made love. With a smirk, he remembered how, despite how relaxed she'd been feeling then, she had started to freak out when he'd mentioned the vacation . . .

_"Bones," Booth said a few minutes later, as he leaned forward to kiss her shoulder and squeezed her waist. "You awake?" _

_"I am now," Brennan said, grumpily, she had been on the verge of falling asleep. _

_"I'm sorry," Booth said, apologetically. "I just wanted to tell you something." _

_"Urg, couldn't it have waited until tomorrow morning?" she asked, as she shifted on the bed and snuggled deeper into his embrace. _

_"I guess it could have," Booth said with a shrug. "But since you're up now . . ." _

_"Ok, ok," she said, sighing and shifting onto her back. "What is it?" _

_"You're beautiful," he told her, leaning forward and kissing her on the lips. _

_"Thank you," she said with a smile when he pulled back. "But I hope that's no what you woke me up to tell me?" _

_"No," Booth said with a grin, as he leaned forward and gave her a deeper kiss. "I wanted to tell you that my buddy finally got back to me and told me that we can have the cabin the second week of June." _

_"The second week . . .?" Brennan started to ask, as she sat up. "Booth, I don't think . . ." _

_"So, I went online and booked us some rooms at the Disney resort for the third week of June," Booth said, not letting her finish since he knew she was going to try and get out of going on the trip. _

_"Booth," she insisted when he finished speaking. "I really don't think I can take two weeks off this summer." _

_"Bones," he said, patiently. "We already talked about this. You have accumulated more than enough time to take two weeks off." _

_"Yes, maybe," she said, pulling the sheet closer to her and twisting her fingers in it. "I still don't think that I should intrude on your time with Parker__, and . . ." _

_"You will not be intruding, Bones," Booth said, once again not letting her finish. "I already told you, Parker is looking forward to you coming with us." _

_"But how can he?" she wanted to know. "He's barely spent much time with me." _

_"Of course he has," Booth argued. "Besides, regardless of how many hours you two might have spent together, he knows he likes you and wants to spend more time with you. Or don't you want to spend time with him?" Booth asked, as the possibility that she might not want to spend time with his son suddenly occurred to him. _

_"Of course I do," Brennan hastened to reassure him. "It's just that . . . Booth, how do we know that we can get along for two weeks? _

_"Because we do," he said, not reassuring her at all, if her face was anything to go by. "And we have four months until then, there'll be plenty of time for you two to spend quality time together." _

_"Plenty of . . . Booth what do you mean by that?" she asked, intending to sound annoyed but instead sounding nervous. Booth however decided that it was time to distract her and leaned forward to kiss her long enough that she forgot all about the trip and could only think of what Booth was doing. _

With a shake of his head, Booth shook that memory off. Driving down the middle of the interstate, with his six year old in the back of the car was not the best place to enjoy that particular memory. Taking a deep breath, he focused his attention on the road, after one last glance in Brennan's direction.

Two and a half hours later, Brennan finally stirred awake. She stretched, as she blinked and sat up straighter. She moved her head about to work out the kinks and she fixed her seat belt.

"You finally awake there, sleepy head?" he asked, throwing a grin her way.

"Yes, I am," she said, as she returned the smile. "So, where are we?" she asked, as she turned and looked out the window.

"Less than an hour from the cabin," Booth answered; the cabin was located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in South Western Virginia about four and half hours from DC. 

"It's beautiful," she sighed, as she looked out the window and admired the scenery. It was late spring and the greenery was in full bloom all around them; the grass was a sea of green to one side of the road and to the other, the mountains rose up majestically and were surrounded by a variety of trees.

"Yes, it is," Booth agreed simply.

"Dr. Bones, you're awake!!" Parker called from the back seat and then leaned forward towards her seat.

"Hey, Parker," Brennan said, smiling as she shifted to better look at him. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he said, happily and then held up his game boy. "I finally finished level 8! I'm halfway through 9 now."

"That's good, Parker," Brennan praised him, though she had no idea what he was talking about. "So, you've had a good morning?"

"Yep," he nodded, nodding. "I did. But you missed breakfast cause you were asleep; aren't you hungry?" He said, all in one breath. "Daddy and I had McDonald's; I had OJ with pancakes. It was really good. Don't you want something?"

"Actually," Brennan said, as her stomach chose that moment to rumble. "Yes, I do," she admitted with a sheepish smile.

"There's a rest stop a few minutes ahead," Booth said around a grin. "I'll stop and get you something."

"Good," Brennan nodded.

"I asked daddy if we should wake you," Parker told her, "but he said we should let you sleep. He said you didn't sleep a lot last night."

"I guess I didn't," Brennan said with a side glance at Booth.

"Didn't he make you go to bed early?" Parker asked, curiously. "He's always making me go to bed early. But I didn't really mind last night cause, the earlier I went to bed, the earlier today was gonna come."

"That's true," Brennan said, seriously, after exchanging a smiling glance with Booth. "And we did go to bed early," she started to add, only to realize that it would only bring up more questions.

"Then why are you tired?" Parker asked right on cue. "Did you have bad dreams?"

"Ah, yes," Brennan stammered after appealing to Booth with her eyes and getting back a look that said she was on her own. "Yes, I had some bad dreams."

"Did you wake up daddy?" he asked innocently. "He's very good at chasing away bad dreams; he hugs and cuddles you until the monsters go away. Didn't he hug you until you fell asleep? He always does with me."

"Ah, well," she stammered again; this time not asking but demanding that Booth do something.

"Hey, buddy," Booth said, as he turned into the rest area. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Can I have a slushie?" he asked excitedly, completely forgetting the previous conversation. That was the nice thing about six year olds, Brennan was learning; their short attention span.

After getting breakfast for Bones and snacks for Booth and Parker, the trio continued on their trip to the cabin. A bit over half an hour later, Booth parked the SUV in front of the cabin on the small gravel parking lot adjacent it.

The cabin was located on the shore of a beautiful and rather large lake and on a 25 foot plot which had been cleared of trees. Beyond those 25 feet, was a densely wooded area that extended all around the lake and as far as the eye could see.

In fact, the closer they'd gotten to the cabin, the closer the trees had gotten to the road. For the last half hour, the winding road had been the only thing cutting through the trees and when Brennan got out of the car, she felt as if she had been dropped in the middle of a forest – which when she thought about it, was very much what had happened.

"Well," she said, as she walked closer to the cabin and a large deck that extended out into the lake became visible. "I can see how there's no cell reception around here. We're in the middle of nowhere."

"Yup," Booth said, as he looked at her from where the side of the car, where he'd stayed after helping Parker climb out. "But it's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked as he took a deep breath of fresh mountain air.

"Yes, it is," she agreed, as she walked back to the car to help him bring their stuff down.

"Daddy," Parker called out, as he came running back, from where he'd been exploring the back of the cabin. "Can I get into the water? Can I, please? Please?" He pleaded, giving Booth his puppy eye look and his version of the charmed smile.

"Sure, buddy," Booth told him, chuckling and ruffling his son's hair. "Just let us get this stuff put away in the cabin and we'll all go and play by the lake, ok?"

"Ooookay," Parker said, obviously preferring to go right now but knowing this was the best he was going to get. In order to try and hurry up the process, he decided to help in carrying in the things. He reached into the trunk and picked up his book bag and a grocery bag that wasn't too heavy. "Well, come on, hurry up, Daddy!! Dr. Bones, let's go!!" he told them as he half ran, half walked to the cabin.

Booth and Brennan shared a smile and hurried up after the excited little boy. After they opened all the windows to air out the place, turned on the generator, put away the groceries they'd brought and unpacked their clothes, they made their way to the lake.

Brennan, wore a tankini, carried a towel, a bottle of ice water, a book and a cushion for her head. Booth carried towels for him and Parker and a flotation vest for Parker; Parker carried the sun block bottle and his beach toys. She stopped a few feet from the shore and laid out her towel before sitting down.

"You want me to help you put on the sun block after I'm done with Parker?" Booth asked, as he kneeled on one knee and started putting the sun block on Parker before helping him put on the vest.

"Ok, buddy," Booth said, as he tightened the enclosures on the vest. "You can go into the water now; but don't go any deeper than waist high until I get there, ok?"

"Ok, Daddy," Parker nodded, enthusiastically, practically bouncing up and down. As soon as Booth took a step back, he was off running towards the water; Booth spent a few moments watching his son play in the water before turning to Brennan, who had been studying him study Parker. He grinned at her as he walked up to where she was lying down.

"Turn around," he said, motioning with his hand. "So, I can get this lotion on your back."

"I don't think I really need that," Brennan protested.

"Yes, you do," Booth insisted.

"But the sun is not that strong," she argued, rolling her eyes.

"Bones, you're skin is very fair and we don't want you getting a sunburn," he said firmly. "Now, turn around."

"Ok, ok," she agreed, as she marked her place in the book before turning over. "Just hurry up, will you? I want to read my book."

"Book?" he asked, looking at the paperback she'd put down next to her. "What are you reading? It better not be anything work related," he said, warningly.

"Please," she said and by her tone he could tell she was rolling her eyes again. "As if anything work related came in paperbacks. Besides, didn't you hide all of my new journals?"

"Yes, I did," he said with a grin, thinking back to the last two weeks and how he'd gone around looking for any book that looked the least bit scientisty and hidden them from her. "Wait a minute, I know that author," he exclaimed, as he registered the name on the cover. "She writes romance! You're reading a romance novel?" he asked, completely surprised.

"It's not a romance novel," she protested, as he finished putting lotion on her upper back and moved to her lower back and the back of her legs. "It's a futuristic cop thriller."

"Ummm," Booth said, sounding very dubious. "How did you get it anyway?"

"Angela gave me a copy a while back," she explained. "I read a few chapters and thought it was pretty good but didn't have time to finish it. Since you made sure I couldn't bring anything else to read, I decided it'd be a good time to finally finish it," she added as she turned back around.

"You think one book is going to last you the whole week?" he asked, as he sat back on his haunches.

"Well," she said as she shifted, trying to find a comfortable spot. "It's a series and there are close to twenty books; I brought most of them. I won't run out of books to read, don't worry."

Booth opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Parker yelling for him. He stood up saying, "Well, I don't think you'll be able to read as many as you think. You can read for now but I'm sure Parker'll be here to drag into the water soon, though," with a last smile her way, he turned and jogged down to join Parker in the water.

Brennan watched them play for a few minutes before she turned her attention back to the book. The book was very good and she lost herself in it until Parker came and draggedher away from it just as Booth had predicted. She spent the next hour playing in the water with Booth and Parker until she called a halt to the play saying she was hungry and it was past time to do something about dinner.

"Bones is right, buddy," Booth told Parker, picking him up and walking out of the water with him over his shoulder. "We should really get inside; the sun is going down now."

"But Daddy," Parker whined, as Booth put him down and started to dry him off. "I want to keep playing."

"We'll play some more tomorrow, ok?" Booth promised as he hung the towel around Parker's neck and picked up his own to start toweling himself dry.

"Ok," Parker agreed and ran to catch up with Brennan who was done picking up her stuff and was walking towards the cabin. "Wait up, Dr. Bones."

"Alright, buddy," Booth said once he reached the cabin. "Time for your bath," he said, ruffling Parker's curls.

"Awww, Dad!" Parker whined, from where he was leaning against the kitchen counter, talking to Brennan. "Can't I help Dr. Bones with dinner?"

"You know the rules, buddy," Booth told him, firmly. "You have to take a bath after being in the water. Now, come on; the faster you take your bath, the faster you can come out and help Bones with dinner."

"Ok," Parker agreed, reluctantly. He turned and started to walk towards the bathroom but he suddenly turned back and ran to Brennan. "I'll be right back to help you, Dr. Bones," he told her, as he threw his arms around her waist and gave her a quick hug. With a last squeeze, he turned and ran to the bathroom, leaving a surprised and touched Brennan staring after him.

"I'll go and make sure he doesn't flood the bathroom," Booth told her with a sweet smile after he walked over and gave her a tender kiss.

"Ok," she agreed, as she watched them go with a soft smile. With a sigh, she shook her head and turned her attention back to cooking dinner. She had planned to make something fast and simple but all of a sudden she had the urge to make something special to commemorate their first day of vacation. She grinned as she remembered that she had everything she needed to make her mac and cheese; she knew both Booth men loved it and she did like to see them enjoying the food she made.

A few hours later, everyone had had their showers, the mac and cheese had been a huge hit, they'd played charades and made smores and Parker's energy had finally given out after the long, exciting day.

"Come on, buddy," Booth said as he picked his son up. "It's time for bed."

"No, Daddy," Parker protested, though it was only said out of habit, since he wrapped his arms and legs around Booth and nestled his head in Booth's shoulder, "five more minutes?"

"Sure, buddy," Booth said with a grin. "Why you don't spend those five minutes already in your bed, huh?"

"Ok," Parker agreed. He then lifted up his head and looked at Brennan from over Booth's shoulder. "Dr. Bones, aren't you coming to tuck me in too?"

"I . . . ah," Brennan stammered, looking up from where she was straightening up the living room. She looked at Booth, who shrugged as if to say it was up to her, before taking a deep breath and saying, "Sure, I'll come and tuck you in too. Just let me put this away."

"Ok, Dr. Bones," Parker nodded, letting his head fall back onto his daddy's shoulder.

A few moments later, Brennan walked into Parker's room and came to stand next to Booth, who was leaning down to kiss Parker good night.

"Good night, buddy," Booth said. "I love you."

"I love you, too daddy," Parker was saying as he let go of Booth. He then turned to Brennan and held out his arms for her to lean in and hug him. "I love you, Dr. Bones," he said when Brennan pulled back.

"I love you too, Parker," Brennan said after a few second's of stunned silence.

Booth put his arms around her as they left Parker's room. "You ok?" he asked her, as they walked into the kitchen to get something to drink.

"Yes," Brennan said, as she opened the refrigerator. "Yes, I am," she repeated, as she took the carton of orange juice. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Orange juice is fine," he said while he took out a couple of glasses. "Are you sure you're fine?" he asked again, making sure she really was fine.

"Yes," she answered as she poured the juice. She handed him his juice and said thoughtfully, as she went into the living room, "it's just, that's the first time he's told me he loves me, you know?"

"I know," Booth said quietly, as he sat down next to her. "But he really does; he doesn't say that to too many people." As a sweet a boy as Parker was, he was really introverted when it came to expressing his feelings.

"I know," she agreed, as she cuddled into his side. "And I really love him too or I wouldn't have said it," she told him and he nodded, with complete understanding.

"So, did you have fun today?" Booth said, after a few moments of silence, while they sipped their juice, both completely lost in thought.

"Yes, I did," she admitted with a smile, thinking back on the day and she realized that she had never had such an uncomplicatedly fun day. And now that they were relaxing in the living room, on the nice plush couch, she was ready for another type of fun.

"And you didn't miss work, did you?" he asked her, with a knowing grin.

"No, I guess I didn't," she answered, as she shifted on the couch, so that she was straddling him. "Now, are there any other questions you want to ask me?" she asked, as she leaned forward and kissed him.

"Well," he said, as she pulled back, "not right now, but I think you have a very good idea about what we should do next."

"Yes, I do," she said, as she leaned in for another deep kiss. She threaded the fingers of one hand through his hair and let her other hand caress his chest, over his t-shirt. He ran his hands up and down her back before settling them on her ass and pulling her pelvis closer to his own.

"Mmmm," she moaned, as she pushed her pelvis even closer to his and arched her back. She pulled his t-shirt up, and off, and threw it over her shoulder, while he reached out and started undoing the buttons on her shirt.

"You're beautiful," he told her, as she let her shirt slip down her arms. "So beautiful," he repeated, as he reached out and cupped her breasts; he squeezed them once before he reached around her and unsnapped her bra. She shrugged it off and he reached forward to cup her breasts again and lightly pinched her nipples.

He leaned forward and licked one nipple before moving to the other one and suckled it deep. He squeezed her other breast and with his free hand on her waist, shifted her so that she was lying on her back, on the couch.

"Booth," Brennan said, as she started to unbutton her shorts. "Should we do this here? What if Parker wakes up and comes out here?"

"He's out for the night," he reassured her, as he unzipped her shorts and started to slide them down her legs. "He won't be up until tomorrow morning."

"You sure?" she started to protest, but trailed off when he stood by the sofa to drop his shorts, and she saw how erect and hard he was.

"Yes," he said firmly. "You just have to be extra quiet," he told her, as he got back on the couch. "Now, why don't we stopped talking about Parker and concentrate on us," and with that he took hold of her waist and moved her further upwards on the couch. He kneeled between her legs and took a moment to just study her lying there in front of him; sometimes he could not believe that they were finally together. "You are gorgeous," he told her, as he leaned forward and laid down on top of her. "I love you," he told her, as he moved closer and kissed her deeply.

"I love you too," she gasped, when he started to kiss his way down her neck. She threw her head back to give him better access, as she ran her hands down his back and clutched his ass.

He groaned at the bite of her nails and nipped her neck before moving down to her breasts, where he sucked one deeply into his mouth. He lightly pinched her other nipple with one hand, while caressing the side of her body with the other; when he reached her hip, he moved his hand inward and eased his fingers through her curls.

They both moaned when he touched her wetness. She shifted her leg higher on his waist, as he moved his hand lower and thrust two fingers into her heat. She moaned again, moved one hand into his hair to hold his head at her breast, and gripped his ass tighter with her other hand.

"Seeley," she groaned, a few moments later when his thumb, playing with her clit, in addition to his deep thrusting, quickly made her lose her mind. "Please, I need you."

"In a minute," he whispered, as he changed breasts but kept up the rhythm of his hand between her legs.

"Now!" she almost screeched but remembered at the last moment to keep it quiet. "Now! I need you to fuck me now!" She demanded and like always, hearing such language coming from her mouth swiftly pushed him to the edge.

"Ok," he agreed, as he shifted his hips and entered her in one swift and hard thrust, silently thanking the powers that be, that she took the pill and that there was no need to use anything that would keep him from feeling her wet heat. The incredible feeling of her tight around him, however, rapidly chased every thought from his head but how good she felt and in moments the only thing left in either of their minds was the drive towards completion.

"I love you," she cried out, when she came a few moments later. A few seconds later, he came too, groaning that he loved her.

They rested a few minutes before she moved, making him shift to her side. "That was amazing," he said, as he kissed her shoulder and drew her closer to him.

"Yes," she agreed but, unlike him, she couldn't quite relax, now that the heat of the moment had passed. "Don't you think we should move to the bedroom? I mean we don't want to fall asleep here, do we?"

"Yes, I guess you're right," he said, as he sat up and stretched. "We should move." He got up and held out his hand to help her up too.

Ten minutes later, they were snuggled into bed and Brennan was once again thinking over the events of the day. Booth being Booth could tell that she wasn't ready to fall asleep.

"What are you thinking?" he asked her, as he spooned behind her.

"I'm just," she started to say. "I'm just wondering if the rest of the two weeks will be as fun as today was."

"Yes, they will be," he answered immediately and without hesitation.

"How can you know?" she asked, as she shifted, so that she was facing him. "How can you be sure what the next two weeks are going to be like?"

"Well," he said, as he propped up on one elbow and reached forward to push her hair behind her ear. "I just can; I mean," he added, when she opened her mouth to protest the vague answer. "Sure there might be a misunderstanding here and there, and we probably won't agree on everything, but we'll have as much fun as we did today because, despite any misunderstanding or argument, at the end of the day we'll be together. And that's what's important; not that it be perfect, because life isn't perfect, but that we spend the time together, resting and enjoying each other's company. Because, Temperance, I would enjoy just sitting around doing nothing, as long as you and Parker were sitting with me. And by the end of these two weeks, you will have had so much fun that you'll be glad you came with us and wondered why you ever hesitated."

"You promise?" she asked, smiling.

"I promise," he told her, as he leaned in and kissed her sweetly, before lying back down and pulling her close once again.

Two weeks later, Brennan was once again helping to tuck Parker in, as she had done every night for the past two weeks. She ruffled his hair and leaned in to kiss him.

"Love ya, Dr. Bones," he told her sleepily.

"I love you, too," she said, with a smile, and then took a step back for Booth to say his own goodnights.

They had come back earlier that day after a long drive, and after an early dinner, and a bath, Parker had been more than ready for bed. He was staying over at Booth's until the following morning, when Rebecca was coming by to pick him up.

Once Booth kissed Parker and made sure the blankets were tucked safely around him, they left the bedroom leaving the door open a few inches so that they could hear if Parker needed anything during the night.

"So," Booth said, as they were getting ready to climb into bed. "Did I keep my promise? Did you have fun these last two weeks?"

Brennan arranged the covers around her as she thought back over the last two weeks:

Waking up with Booth every morning; having breakfast with him and Parker before going out and spending most of the morning under the sun; playing in the water; going on a boat ride to the middle of the lake; taking hikes around the woods in the afternoon; playing charades, monopoly, clue and twister in the evenings; making s'mores and having hot cocoa; driving all the way to Florida and sitting in the back seat with Parker for two hours, so that he could teach her how to play his favorite game boy game; convincing Booth to let her drive for a couple of hours; sharing a hotel room with Booth and Parker when they stopped for the night; staying at the Disney resort and seeing Parker's face when they walked into the Magic Kingdom and he saw the magic of Disney for the first time; seeing Booth's face take the same expression of awe as his son; feeling some of that awe at the pleasure the two Booth men got from talking to Mickey, Minnie, Donald and all the other characters she remembered from her childhood; going to Sea World and getting soaked and laughing about it when Shamu jumped out of the water; going to the Nickelodeon Studios in Universal Park and being pulled by a grinning Parker to all his favorite shows' rides; driving back to DC and seeing Parker sleep a good portion of the time, because the two weeks of fun and excitement had finally caught up to him.

Did he keep his promise? Did she have fun, and was she glad to have taken those two weeks off? There was only one answer to all those questions.

"Yes," she said, softly, as she leaned forward and kissed him. "You've kept all your promises; as you always have."

As they settled down to sleep, she thought that if the last four years were anything to go by, he would always keep his promises. And the knowledge that he would always be there gave her a warm feeling and a sense of security about the future that she hasn't felt since she was 15; being with him, loving him and having him love her was the best thing that had ever happened to her and she knew as long as he was there, everything would be alright, because he'd always take care of her and would never let her fears or panic get in the way of their life together.

**A/N2: **So, I threw in a little of smut in there; wasn't planning on it but well BB were pretty insistant and who am I to deny them, right? Hope you liked it!! Please, let me know what you think!!!


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